New Facts In 2004 Deaths Of Two GIs

Probe Reportedly Concludes Iraqi Officers Killed American Soldiers

(CBS/AP)  There have been several other high-profile cases in recent years of GI casualties which later turned out to have occurred in dramatically different circumstances than originally reported.

The best known may be that of Army Cpl. Pat Tillman, a 27-year-old pro football player who, like McCaffrey, joined the military after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Tillman died along a canyon road in Afghanistan in April 2004. His family was initially told that he was killed by enemy fire; later, they were told he was shot during a confused confrontation between his Army Ranger unit and other U.S. troops.

A new investigation is underway into whether there was criminal negligence by U.S. soldiers in connection with Tillman's death.

Another case – the May 2004 death of Pfc. Jesse Buryj in Karbala, Iraq – has his Canton, Ohio mother calling for a change she believes would help other military families.

Peggy Buryj says there should be an independent panel that military families can go to in cases where the cause of death is in question.

Pfc. Buryj's widow, Amber, says she was told that he was killed in "a car accident, like a Humvee accident" just three months after arriving in Iraq.

Two and half months later, the death certificate arrived, stating that Buryj died of a gunshot wound – information Peggy Buryj says was news to her.

Another seven months later, the autopsy report said the shot was a case of friendly fire – shots fired when a dump truck rammed a checkpoint being guarded by U.S. and Polish troops.

Peggy Buryj says at one point investigators told her they thought a Polish soldier fired the shot – an assertion Poland denies.

The Army's most recent report places the blame on American friendly fire.

"We need an independent body we could go to," says Peggy Buryj. "That's the best thing that can happen out of Jesse's death."