Katie Couric's Notebook: Pat Tillman
Video: In 2002, Pat Tillman gave up a $3.6 million dollar NFL contract to serve his country in the wake of September. 11. Two years later, he was killed in Afghanistan.
President Bush called him "an inspiration on and off the football field."
But a new Pentagon report finds that in its rush to honor a high profile hero, the system failed miserably in telling the truth about Tillman's death - leaving his family in the dark, then spreading misleading and inaccurate information.
The Army first said Tillman was killed by enemy fire, fighting the Taliban. But later, it admitted he was killed by members of his own Army battalion.
The Chief of the Army Special Operations at the time said he knew Tillman likely was killed by friendly fire, but said nothing.
Tillman's mother said "the military let him down." In the way the military reported, or misreported, this story, they let ALL of us down.
That's a page from my Notebook.