Posted on 05/22/2005 9:32:05 PM PDT by drt1
Handling of Rangers death called a sign of disrespect. Former NFL player Pat Tillman's family is lashing out against the Army, saying that the military's investigations into Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan last year were a sham and that Army efforts to cover up the truth have made it harder for them to deal with their loss.
More than a year after their son was shot several times by his fellow Army Rangers on a craggy hillside near the Pakistani border, Tillman's mother and father said in interviews that they believe the military and the government created a heroic tale about how their son died to foster a patriotic response across the country. They say the Army's "lies" about what happened have made them suspicious, and that they are certain they will never get the full story.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Sounds like lawyers got them snookered into suing the Army.
More like the entire Federal and State Governments.
All of the media was covering at the time if I recall
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my miscellaneous ping list.
More spoiled baby boomer's who never sacrificed anything for this country that basically handed them everything on a silver platter, then crying about the price of admission.
Much as Nick Berg's father complained
CPL Tillman was a Ranger, and he new the risks, and as a any good solider knows "Sh*T Happens".
They the parents deserve a him
Big talk from a couple of lightweight no nut bozos. Run that crap on the next Ranger you meet, but 1st make sure your next of kin know where the hospital you'll be in is located. Or better yet, get a friggin' clue. Or still better STFU.
Can't let the American people find out the reality that war is hell and not a movie where everything goes according to plan.
"Sad to see that they are allying themselves with those who hate their son."
Yes, that is indeed very sad.
"Can't let the American people find out the reality that war is hell and not a movie where everything goes according to plan."
The many couch commanders on FR don't really "understand" this point. They see only numbers and cheer for the next war.
I can't understand how many parents just don't get it.
Undermining the cause for which your child sacrificed his or her life is the most effective means of dishonoring their memory.
Very true. There are mistakes made in every organization especially when starting a new effort in an unknown area. There is a learning curve in every business, government, and military organization during which a lot of mistakes are made at the beginning and progressively fewer mistakes are made as the organization learns its new mission. I've worked on a few software development projects that were absolute disasters in their early stages. The tragedy in Tillman's case is that part of the business of the US Army is firing heavy weapons and killing the enemy, and when a mistake is made during this activity then the wrong people sometimes get killed.
The same kind of mistakes happen countless times every day in corporate America, but killing is not part of their business and so the mistakes are corrected without any bloodshed. A number of mistakes were made that contributed to Tillman's accidental death, but I don't view any of them as negligence. The key error appears to be the decision to split up Tillman's platoon while they were moving through unfamiliar territory. I'm sure his CO would give anything to change that fateful decision, but his CO was new to Afghanistan too and never expected such a disastrous result from this decision. I blame the whole thing on bin Laden and the Taliban.
Where do you get your inside information? Pravda? Or The Guardian?
These guys think you should STFU.
No denying the loss of Tillman's life was tragic, but death by friendly fire is all too often the norm, not the exception.
The following incidents come to mind, but there were many, many, more. In WW2 near St. Lo France, US heavy bombers dumped their bombs on American positions, killing over 800 Americans. At Salerno, the US navy opened up on American bombers, killing over a 100 airmen. At Anzio, US bombers bombed Americans, killing over 100.
As Sherman said, "war is hell." In war mistakes happen and men die, those are the facts.
Over the next 10 days, however, top-ranking Army officials including the theater commander, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid were told of the reports that Tillman had been killed by his own men, the investigation said. But the Army waited until a formal investigation was finished before telling the family which was weeks after a nationally televised memorial service that honored Tillman on May 3, 2004.
It doesn't seem the Tillmans realize how important their son had become to millions of Americans, and in their continuing grief, they are acting as if the shameful circumstances of his death would have served some purpose splashed across the world.
She said she was particularly offended when President Bush offered a taped memorial message to Tillman at a Cardinals football game shortly before the presidential election last fall. She again felt as though her son was being used, something he never would have wanted.
I wonder how she would have felt if her son had been used by guys like Ted Rall multiple times over if the Army said, "Pat was killed by the troops that couldn't shoot straight."
So when were you in the army or are ya just reading and ranting ?
Yeah, it made alot of sense for our country to glamorize his death with lies and propaganda. The family's son is dead and now they know the truth.
But, yeah, they have joined the "dark side" in your opinion and aren't made of "steel".
This isn't "Rambo".
Was about to post the same about the Lynch failed propaganda effort. Does anyone really doubt the military would do this, given the PR hit they would take on the initial news cycle otherwise?
When a posthumous award is given to a fallen comrade, it is frequently written with your comrades loved ones in mind. If he died badly, through an accident or his own negligence, it does no good to relate this information to his family. In the past, a final gift to a fallen comrade has been a creatively written posthumous award that his family will cherish forever as they remember their sons life and the precious gift of life he gave to his country.
May God damn forever the liberal leftist journalists who have robbed the Tillman family of this final gift their sons comrades gave to them.
This is so sad. Their son did something that nobody can ever take away from him. He gave up the good life to join his brother in protecting his country. What more can a man or a country ask of one of their sons? My prayer is that the parents let it go as hard as that may be. Grief is a powerful thing.
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