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WASHINGTON - An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when he died by friendly fire said Tuesday he was told by a higher-up to conceal that information from Tillman's family. ADVERTISEMENT "I was ordered not to tell them," U.S. Army Specialist Bryan O'Neal told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He said he was given the order by then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, the battalion commander who oversaw Tillman's platoon. Pat Tillman's brother Kevin was in a convoy behind his brother when the incident happened, but didn't see it. O'Neal said Bailey told him specifically not to tell...

"House committee plans hearings on embellishments in Tillman, Lynch cases"

(CBS) SAN FRANCISCO -- Mary Tillman is accusing President Bush of helping cover up the facts in her son’s death, after new documents suggest Bush knew within a week that U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman had been killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. “We’ve always believed that the White House knew that Pat was killed by friendly fire. It’s just a matter of trying to prove it,” Mary Tillman told KCBS radio on Saturday. The Pentagon maintained for five weeks the San Jose native and NFL star had been killed by enemy fire. New documents disclosed by the Associated Press...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Just seven days after Pat Tillman's death, a top general warned there were strong indications that it was friendly fire and President Bush might embarrass himself if he said the NFL star-turned-soldier died in an ambush, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. ADVERTISEMENT It was not until a month afterward that the Pentagon told the public and grieving family members the truth — that Tillman was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by his comrades. The memo reinforces suspicions that the Pentagon was more concerned with sparing officials from embarrassment than with leveling with Tillman's...

Pat Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL career to serve his country. PAT TILLMAN is an American hero. He represents the best of what love and pride for our nation are all about. Tillman was so affected and angered by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that he surrendered a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist with the U.S. Army. In 2004, Tillman, a member of the elite Army Rangers, made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. And without question, there are those in the Army who did an extreme disservice to his heroism by trying to...

SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Investigators probing the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman found no criminal negligence, a government official said Monday, ending a yearlong inquiry into the conduct of the soldiers who opened fire on him in Afghanistan and a possible subsequent cover up. The Army announced in March 2006 it would open a new investigation into the circumstances of Tillman's death, in response to complaints from the former NFL star's family and congressional representatives that previous probes had left key questions unanswered.

HONOLULU (AP) - A former NFL player who joined the Marines and was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan, was heading for the war in Iraq Tuesday night. Lance Cpl. Jeremy Staat, a former defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams who had been playing Arena Football, was one of 300 Marines in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment being deployed from Kaneohe Bay. The unit is expected to be in Iraq for seven months. "The way I look at it, we're spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2006 -- The Arizona Cardinals commemorated Veterans Day during yesterday’s game by paying tribute to former teammate and fallen soldier Pat Tillman, as well as five Tuskegee Airmen and a Navy Reservist recently returned from duty in the Middle East. Tillman became the 11th person inducted into the Cardinals’ “Ring of Honor” during halftime at the Cardinals-Cowboys game at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Tempe, Cardinals officials reported. The team honored Tillman, who left the team to become an Army Ranger, during a six-minute video tribute that concluded with Tillman’s name being unveiled on the...

editorial | posted October 20, 2006 (web only) Pat Tillman's Legacy Kevin Tillman Former Major League Baseball player Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. This article originally appeared on Truthdig. It is Pat Tillman's birthday November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of...

10/21/2006 4:34 AM - Kevin Tillman, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with his older brother, Pat Tillman, has remained silent since his brother's death in 2004. This week, he wrote a scathing indictment of the war in Iraq, the Bush administration PHOENIX -- The brother of an NFL player who was killed in Afghanistan after quitting the team to join the U.S. Army Rangers has spoken out. Kevin Tillman, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with his older brother, Pat Tillman, has remained silent since his brother's death in 2004. But...

Saturday, October 21, 2006 Pat Tillman's brother Kevin speaks out against war Associated Press PHOENIX -- The brother of an NFL player who was killed in Afghanistan after quitting the team to join the U.S. Army Rangers has broken his silence. Kevin Tillman, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with his older brother, Pat Tillman, has remained silent since his brother's death in 2004. But this week, he wrote a scathing indictment of the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and American apathy. "Somehow, the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes,"...

On Veterans Day weekend, the Arizona Cardinals will honor the late Pat Tillman with a special halftime ceremony and give him a place on the team's Ring of Honor at University of Phoenix Stadium. But a less-publicized tribute in the Phoenix area is paid to Tillman every time a 24-year-old war veteran and student at Scottsdale Community College takes the stage as the lead singer of the punk rock band Second Stint. Sgt. Brad "Jake" Jacobson was among the Army Rangers on a mission in southeastern Afghanistan when Tillman was killed by friendly fire in April 2004. Jacobson wrote and...

Hollywood is missing in action when it comes to fighting for America in recent conflicts, not the least being the war against terrorism. We hereby challenge readers to name one modern American celebrity, apart from the late football star Pat Tillman, who served or fought for his or her country in the past 15 years. "Even Hollywood ... sent its best to wars prior to Vietnam," University of Dayton professor Larry Schweikart reminds us in his new book, "America's Victories," writing that professional actors were as "thoroughly represented" in the fighting military during World War II as any other group....

The honor code is carved into stone at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point: "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." The words express the integrity expected of those who lead our men and women into battle, and they have a purpose: Officers who cannot be trusted have no place in positions of responsibility, not when the consequences of such a character flaw can be death, not when the American people put such confidence in those in uniform. But somehow, it is hard to square that admirable code of honor with the Army's behavior...

SAN DIEGO -- A former college teammate of Pat Tillman is following in his footsteps, leaving a career in professional football to join the military. Pfc. Jeremy Staat, a former defensive lineman who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams, graduated from the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Friday. Enlisting "is probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life," Staat, 29, told The Associated Press after the ceremony. Tillman, who played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed by friendly fire near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in April 2004. The Defense Department...

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A former college teammate of Pat Tillman is following his footstep by leaving professional football to join the military. Pfc. Jeremy Staat, a former NFL defensive lineman who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the St. Louis Rams, graduated from the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Friday. Enlisting "is probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life," Staat, 29, told The Associated Press after his graduation ceremony.

A former college teammate of Pat Tillman – the NFL player who left football to join the Army and was killed in Afghanistan – has followed in his footsteps and joined the Marines. Jeremy Staat, who also played professional football, left the game at age 29 to endure the rigors of boot camp and life in the military. Staat was an offensive lineman at Arizona State University while Tillman played there, and the two were roommates. After college, Staat moved on to the National Football League, playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams, plus...

WASHINGTON, March 4 — In a rare rebuke of military investigators, the Defense Department inspector general has told the Army to open a criminal inquiry into the shooting death of Cpl. Pat Tillman, the former professional football player whose enlistment in the Army drew national attention, Pentagon officials said Saturday. The new inquiry into the killing of Corporal Tillman, a member of the elite Rangers, will be conducted by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. The Army initially had said he died as a hero in a blaze of enemy fire in Afghanistan in 2004 before attributing his death to an...

<p>A criminal probe is being opened into the death of former NFL star Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.</p>

The American mass media are like tired old dogs, dutifully fetching official lies on command and dropping them like bones at the feet of an unsuspecting public. We in turn reward them by buying both the products and the myths they sell us. Eventually, however, the products fail and the myths unravel. When the government's popularity wanes sufficiently, despite the support of a compliant press, even old dogs can come up with new tricks, reviving the lost art of investigative reporting. Take the Pat Tillman story. Remember him? He was the star National Football League defensive back who, after the...