Tillman's Fellow Ranger Admits Cover-Up

Last Soldier To See Tillman Alive: "I Was Ordered Not To Tell" His Brother

(CBS/AP)  An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when the former football star was cut down by friendly fire in Afghanistan said Tuesday a commanding officer had ordered him to keep quiet about what happened.

The military at first portrayed Tillman's death as the result of heroic combat with the enemy. Army Spc. Bryan O'Neal told a congressional hearing that when he got the chance to talk to Tillman's brother, who had been in a nearby convoy on the fateful day, "I was ordered not to tell him what happened."

"You were ordered not to tell him?" repeated Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"Roger that, sir," replied O'Neal, dressed in his Army uniform.

The revelation came as committee members questioned whether, and when, top Defense officials and the White House knew that Tillman's death in eastern Afghanistan three years ago was actually a result of gunfire from fellow U.S. soldiers.

Tillman's death received worldwide attention because he had walked away from a huge contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

His family was initially misled by the Pentagon and did not learn the truth for more than a month. Tillman was awarded a Silver Star based on fabricated accounts — who fabricated them still isn't clear after several investigations.

"We don't know what the secretary of defense knew, we don't know what the White House knew," Waxman said. "What we do know is these were not a series of accidents, these stories. They were calculatedly put out for a public relations purpose. ... Even now there seems to be a cover-up."

Kevin Tillman was in a convoy behind his older brother, a former NFL star, on April 22, 2004, when Pat Tillman was mistakenly shot by other Army Rangers who had just emerged from a canyon where they'd been fired upon. Kevin Tillman didn't see what happened. O'Neal said he was ordered not to tell him by then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, the battalion commander who oversaw Tillman's platoon.

"He basically just said, Sir, that uh, 'Do not let Kevin know, he's probably in a bad place knowing that his brother's dead,"' O'Neal testified. "He made it known that I would get in trouble, sir, if I spoke with Kevin."

O'Neal said he was "quite appalled" by the order.

Bailey's superior officer, then-Col. James C. Nixon, has testified to the Defense Department's inspector general that he ordered that information on the facts of Tillman's death be shared with as few people as possible so that the Tillman family would not learn those facts through news media leaks. That, in turn, shaped Bailey's guidance to his troops.

The Army said initially that Tillman was killed by enemy gunfire while trying to help another group of ambushed soldiers. The family was not told what really happened until May 29, 2004, a delay the Army blamed on procedural mistakes.

Kevin Tillman and Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, also testified Tuesday but were not in the room when O'Neal spoke.

[pghlady3]

I'm sorry but, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!
We are in a war and PEOPLE DIE. I don't like it but that is the truth. Where is congress probing all the friendly fire deaths in WWI,WWII, Korea, Vietnam???? What makes Mr. Tillman different than every other soldier, nothing. Except maybe his mother thought he would come home alive, and that is what every mother hopes will happen, but every mother has to prepare themselves for when they don't. We need to do away with the 'smart bomb' and start using the bombs used in WWII. We drop a bomb and everythong for 5 miles is wiped off the earth.

[briannorwood]

PghLady:

The issue is bigger than that. There was certainly a coverup about what happened here. Then, there was a coverup of the coverup.

[homespunlady]

Thank you Jessica Lynch for insisting on the truth. Truth has been a VERY RARE commodity for the last 6 years and her telling it leaves me admiring her for her BRAVERY even MORE.
Too bad some of those that WON'T TELL THE TRUTH can't seem to learn from her example.

[impeachgwb]

Yet another reason to IMPEACH the moron!

[karlimhof]

We drop a bomb and everythong for 5 miles is wiped off the earth.
Posted by pghlady3


please go to deserted area, stake out 5 sq. miles and send me your position. I'll send you the bomb.

[j-whitman]

Take those who won reelection, fast track them straight to Baghdad,, Paint thier names on thier backs & take thier credit cards & cell phones away... Give them to the countries people..
.
.. Those would be the lying SOB Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield & Rice.. & Thier dishonarable sickass lying GOP.

[kiwi_chick]

pghlady3, are you seriously as stupid as you sound? The issue is the continued lying to this country about the war, what we are doing there, what we have done and what we will do. NONE of our soldiers should have died in this farcical war that was started to assuage that monkey moron bush's ego. Yes, we should do away with the smart bomb and instead get a stupid one that hones in on dimwits like you.

[matisyahu3]

Some people are just morons. Tillman being famous is partly the reason this is going on. The fact of the matter is that the government covered up his death and instead tried to make him into some propaganda for them to use. Make him seem like a hero who did a great thing for his country(which he did) and give him a medal.

[mountainzen]

This story is a heartbreaker all around. He would have been the poster-boy for Bush's Iraq policy, but they killed him. Then they lied about it.

His poor wife. Didn't he have a kid? Just awful...

Makes me wonder about all of the cover-ups that we haven't heard about.

[macusweil]

Yet another clear case of failure of military leadership at the highest levels, think commander in thief.

Support our troops is sadly nothing than a GOP marketing campaign put in place by the neo.con chickenhawks to promote their immoral agenda of greed.

If you believe the Republican lead government of the United States has done anything but play lip service to providing real support for our troops then you must also believe in the tooth fairy.

[shingles1]

"Are they probing into all 3200+ deaths so far or just Tillman's since he was sorta famous? I guess all the others were expendable?
Posted by matvei1107"

I get your point - but the reason they're focusing on these two is because the Administration manufactured the Tillman and Lynch "stories" and then used them as propaganda, which the so-called liberal media was all too willing to parrot. That's where this Committee is going with this hearing.

[jimfinster]

pghlady3:

Are you really that DENSE? They lied about his death for war propoganda reasons. That would be wrong in any war, but especially in Iraq, a war based on lies & deceptions!

Regarding bombs used in WWII, does the word "atomic bomb" ring a bell? How about Hiroshima & Nagasaki? Geez lady...

[gkc99]

So now when the military brass tells you how the "troops support the war" you can tell they're lying by the facts that their lips are moving.

[tejasdemo]

The blame lies at the feet of George E. Bush.

Go to hell ***

[jebby_one]

So did Pat Tillman do something stupid that caused his own death?

Pardon me, but brains and football don't always go together. Nothing about Tillman's football experience would necessarily translate into him being a good soldier. A smart soldier is better than a dumb soldier, and being a football star isn't enough to make up for the deficiencies. But like Rummy implied, you go to war with the soldiers you have not the ones you wished you have.

I can think of a another thousand reasons why someone would want to keep the circumstances about this incident under wrap, and 100% are for the purpose of protecting the surviving loved ones.

[pudd54]

What is the big deal? Friendly fire was always killed our troops, sometimes even intentionally. The only concern would be was he such an azz his own troops fragged him. If not, dead is dead, my condolences to the family, but accidents happen.

[clestes-2009]

It is not enough that Bush & co have managed to kill 3200 US soldiers that otherwise would be alive, they have to LIE about the deaths!!!

Bush, Cheney and the whole neocon warmongering crowd should be impeached, and charged with starting an illegal war. Then they should shot.

Neither Bush or Cheney had the guts to serve in a war, but they are so willing to send others to kill or be killed. And the worse part is that it was never necessary to send Tillman or anyone else to die.

There is no hell bad enough for these disgusting people.

[irishbitch1]

jebby1,

a lie is a lie is a lie!
This administration will go down in history as the most corrupt and dishonest in history. Don;t ever question the integrity, courage or intelligence of any of these Soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for our country! That is treason!

[jebby_one]

Did they perform an autopsy after Tillman was killed?

Was there any evidence of illegal drugs or alcohol?

Maybe the Military should start performing such proceedures so they can inform the families if their lost ones had been drinking or were illegal drugs in their system.

[rharrin1]

They say the drone was not taking pictures. How do they expect anyone to believe them after everybody has learned that the pentagon and the white house has lied every time they open their mouths?

[bosnmate820]

This is simply another cover up story. He was a famous, overpaid professional sports figure. His death is no more important than any other soldier's. The money WASTED by this investigation could be put to use better by spending it on war materials. As far as Ms Lynch is concerned,this country needed a hero and she was in the right place at the right time. I don't mean to take away from her moment of glory, she is a true hero just as the other thousands of soliers and sailors that volunteered their service to their country. She was the right person to feed to the media as a sales gimmick for the new,all volunteer military. She was a bright, attractive young woman and, being from the hills of West Virginia, was the symbol of purity and innocense.
Please stop making a circus of the deaths and injuries from the war.

[huskerarmy]

"Did they perform an autopsy after Tillman was killed? Was there any evidence of illegal drugs or alcohol?"
Drugs? What evidence do you have to suspect drug use? Those of your ilk were the first to hold him up and an example when he turned his back on the big bucks of the NFL to serve in Iraq. Now, you imply that his death was a result of drug use? How pathetic!

[barbaraf4]

"jebby1,
a lie is a lie is a lie!
This administration will go down in history as the most corrupt and dishonest in history. Don;t ever question the integrity, courage or intelligence of any of these Soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for our country! That is treason!"
Posted by irishbitch1 at 11:43 AM : Apr 24, 2007

Maybe it isn't a lie. There was a point during the Vietnam War that the administration was afraid the war would be lost (as if it was not), because so many soldiers were using coke to numb themselves.

[jebby_one]

if the family believes there was fratricide involved than maybe there should be a public investigation.

Why would anyone want to murder Pat Tillman? Was he hated by those who served with him? Why would they hate him? Was he a show-off? Was he a jerk?
Did he do things that constantly put those who served with him at risk? Was he a grandstander who overstepped the threshold of safety? Was he an idiot who endangered his fellow soldiers?

Sane people do not usually murder one another without motive.

[mac2499-2009]

The soldiers in Iraq are going over there by their own free will. We all support the troops. Some of us want them to stay until the job is done while others want them to come home. I think we should ask them what they want. And to support them even more I think that they should be tax exempt with regards to personal income tax while they are fighting over there and their spouses should be given tax refund for 50% of whatever they paid. That is the least that Americans can do for the soldiers that are risking their life in Afghanistan and Iraq so they can protect our freedom.

[clestes-2009]

Jebby_One, you are a digusting peice of filth!!You don't even know what happened and you are casting aspirtions on Tillman like he did something stupid!!

The only thing stupid he did was believe Bush when Bush lied to him about reasons for the invasion, and Bush lied AGAIN to his family about his death. Bush is STILL LYING to this day.

Do yourself a favor and shut up.

[ivandrago]

G'dub might not have directly told the Army to lie, but his administration has been breeding a culture of from the hip lying. If you find a few lies about this type of thing, it's fair to believe that a lot more friendly fire deaths have occurred. This and torture is damaging the image of our armed forces and the U.S. as a whole.

[vunderlutz]

The right to know the truth about known circumstances of a combat death belongs to the family first and last...no exceptions, no debate, there are no "yeah, but's" about it. The right to publish more information belongs to the family.

No person in government or in the military has the right to lie to the family.

Why Rep. Waxman and Sen. Leahy are making television shows on the malfeasance on the part of U.S. government just mystifies me.

From pillar to fence post, from the deceivers-to-their-accusers, is all of it just a scripted show?

[antoniof123]

When someone says yes but it is enough it is because they are not willing to live with the fact that there heros are scum. When will this end hopefully in 2008 with the end of the GOP once and for all or at least until about a million years have passed.

[jebby_one]

You don't even know what happened and you are casting aspirtions on Tillman like he did something stupid!!

To find the absolute truth one has to start with the aspirations that he could have been either an absolute idiot or an absolute hero, and anywhere in between.

The idiots who are pushing this story seem to have themselves started with the unconfirmed and unsubstantiated belief that Tillman was a great guy that never himself did anything wrong. That may or not be true. How can anyone completely investigate this incident without investigating Pat Tillman himself? Was he a saint? was he a jerk? Was he a victim? Did he cause his own death? Let's find out the truth.

[middleman8]

Mr. Tillman had it made in life,but got gung-ho
for glory and volenteered to go to another country to kill and be killed,he asked for it. Whats the big deal with his life over the thousand of others that have been taken with madman Bush's lieing war?

[waterandsand]

i like how the 9 soldiers that died yesterday was quickly replaced with this story. Hes dead, get on with it.

[tejasdemo]

It is not enough that Bush & co have managed to kill 3200 US soldiers that otherwise would be alive, they have to LIE about the deaths!!!

Bush, Cheney and the whole neocon warmongering crowd should be impeached, and charged with starting an illegal war. Then they should shot.

Neither Bush or Cheney had the guts to serve in a war, but they are so willing to send others to kill or be killed. And the worse part is that it was never necessary to send Tillman or anyone else to die.

There is no hell bad enough for these disgusting people.
Posted by clestes at 11:42 AM : Apr 24, 2007


I agree. Go to hell Bush, Cheney and the whole neocon warmongering crowd.

[jebby_one]

So Pat Tillman was no hero.

So what was he? I think the family and the American people now deserve to know about this man. His brother claims that he was murdered.

Who murdered him and why. Let's find out who Tillman was. Was he a good soldier or a bad soldier? Why would someone want to kill him? Was he endangering others? Was he a good or a poor sargent?

Oh, but Waxman and that LayHehehe idiot can't be allowed to sit as judges or jury. They have biased agendas and only seem willing to focus on what the Army did wrong. That's not an honest investigation.

[vet999999]

War is not some tidy negotiation at a conference table. It is chaotic and insane. Great people die, some at the enimies hands, some in accidents, a few by friendly fire and a few by their own hands. I am not sure why this keeps surfacing, in my book they are all heros. If the Army is sure this was not murder, then it was an accident. The guys involved have to live with this and I am sure that is not easy either.

[bogusbones]

Fiction. Fantasy. Twisting the truth to meet public relations goals at the expense of a dead soldier and his family.

Americans support our troops but don't support the war.

This Adminsitration had better wake up soon and realize the patience of the American public does have limits. Stop the deceit. We can handle the truth.

[deadjester1]

I seem to remember everyone getting up in arms when Clinton lied to the American public. What makes this different. We should fire the individuals that lied. Oh and by the way, as long as the American public is funding this war, we do have the right to know the details of combat deaths. I like to know exactly what I'm paying for. In fact, I like to think that I contributed (via my tax dollars) a little bit to every combat death we hear about.

[jebby_one]

"If the Army is sure this was not murder, then it was an accident. The guys involved have to live with this and I am sure that is not easy either. "

Apparently the neo-commie wing of the Democrat party has determined that the circumstances around THIS war casualty be publically aired. And the family has pitched in with accusations of murder.

So be it. But we can't assume that Pat Tillman himself was purely a victim. Remember, he had a gun too and his own actions before or during that day may have contributed to his own death. Maybe the person who shot Pat did so in self defense? Naybe Pat was hated by those who served with him? Who knows? Let's get ALL the facts out.

[grazinggoat]

Pat Tillman died in a friendly-fire incident in April 2004; however, his family was not told what really happened until May 29, 2004. In the intervening weeks, the military continued to say Tillman died under enemy fire %u2014 and even awarded him the Silver Star, which is given for heroic battlefield action.

-HEY! the Army cannot lie. They don't know how to. No they don't. Nope. Army is made of robots, evertruth sayers.... They just don't lie. Collin Powell did not lie to the whole world prior to invading Iraq. Walking-Liar Bush the Commander in Chief did not lie.

[vancouverboo]

The people who run the wars have less trouble with us if we have a few heroes to make us feel good about everything. The Tillman episode was just too good to be true. They only had to massage the story a little, spin it the way they wanted us to believe it.
Jessica, too. Wow, give 'em a woman hero and that will not only be a hero to worship, but will prove that women are just as good in combat as men. Kill two birds with one stone.
"The first casulty of war is truth."
But who expects politicians to tell the truth, they are paid, professional liars. That's how they get elected and re-elected. Let's grow up. Most of us don't know the difference between reality and television anyway.

[huskerarmy]

"Apparently the neo-commie wing of the Democrat party has determined that the circumstances around THIS war casualty be publically aired...Maybe the person who shot Pat did so in self defense? Naybe Pat was hated by those who served with him? Who knows? Let's get ALL the facts out." Posted by Jebby_One

So Jebby1, You want to "get all the facts out." But you want them to do that behind closed doors?

[jebby_one]

according to this account ...

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/1211

it was Tillman's detain who first fired on a friendly and tillman was killed by the return fire. who was in charge of Tillman's small detail?

[king77shaw]

this administration is criminal and an embarrassment ... clearly, the worst administration in US history and a black eye on everything this country has stood for for over 200 years ... hopefully, America will wake up to the truth; that conservative Republican politics based on myth and fear are detrimental to our core values ... I don't believe anything from this administration or the so-called press that is supposed to hold them to task ... question everything - even 9/11 - www.911revisited.com

[jebby_one]

" ... So Jebby1, You want to "get all the facts out." But you want them to do that behind closed doors? ..."

The details of combat casualties are generally muted in the interested of being sensitive to the survivors. Should autopsies be performed so that survivors can be informed if their loved ones had been bing drinking the night before? Or taking illegal drugs? Should the people who sereved with the deceased all come forward and say what they really thought about the deceased?

Does anyone go to a funeral to tell the spouse and family of the deceased that their beloved was an idiot, a drunk, a jerk, a whatever?
No. Ive never done that, perhhaps you do.


But, if everyone insists on knowing the absolute truth so be it.

I recall a first hand story about a horrible aircraft mishap where the pilot had transmited over the air the details of his demise. He was screaming and pleading with God for his life for 20 or 30 seconds before his airplane crashed. It was all on tape. The recording was regarded as sensitive and not released to anyone. The family however insisted that there was some coverup and wanted to know all the details and went through legal channels. They eventually got what they wanted.

Dry cleaners do not return EVERYTHING that they find in the pockets of clothing left for cleaning. It's not because they are thieves.

[clemenhagen1]

I am truly stunned...incredulous even...regarding the continuing blind ignorance of the war cheerleaders and administration apologists. Even given the overwhelming evidence provided by Tillman's brother and Lynch herself they continue to spew venom at the messengers. While I have given up teaching them the truth, maybe this will reach through the TV set to Joe Q. Public. Bush and Rove continue with their plan of painting the Democrats as unsupportive of the troops - this sorry episode screams the opposite. The Bush administration has cynically used and then betrayed the troops at every turn. They sell the heroism of Pat Tillman's decision to turn his back on NFL millions, then deliberately lie and cover-up the truth of his death. They use Jessica Lynch as nothing more than a propaganda commercial. Yet if either of these had needed disability coverage? Call them partially disabled (say 10% coverage) and then get 'em outta here...their usefulness to this deceitful and cyncical administration ends as soon as they give their life or their health (be it mental or physical). At that point the injured vet merely becomes expendable, unless they can be used as a photo op.

[book54552134]

The government's lies regarding Tillman & Lynch are mearly an institutionalized pattern of deception and propaganda that has been advanced by the US government on nearly every issue, every single day, (not just war,) since the end of WW II. But of course, it is the Bush Administration that has taken this pattern of propagandizing the masses, to new heights.
This policy and pattern of governmental propaganda has been promoted and perfected as time has proceeded (with the acquiescence of the Republic's media,) to the point where there are large groups of people, (both political & nonpolitical,) who will vigorously defend the government's ability to sway the masses to the way they wish the public to think.
Anyone who believes the government (and media,) is not involved in such nefarious activities is quite naive to be sure.

[rsoxfan1123]

Lie lie lie some more. We should be used to that from the bush adminstration by now.

[pwrslm]

I am truly stunned...incredulous even...regarding the continuing blind ignorance of the war cheerleaders and administration apologists
Posted by clemenhagen1

What stuns me is the sweeping condemnation Bush gets every time someone says the government did something. Flat out, I really find it hard to believe that these people got to call George at the White House and tell him about this, nor that George actually told them to hide anything.

The truth is, the lynch mob is loose. The military did something wrong, so the world burns down the White House. Typical lack of sense for a mob without any sense.

What is it that Bush did to deserve what you folks are doing to him, besides the fact that he did what Clinton should have done?

[seven-pesos]

never a war the south couldn't lose.

jefferson davis lost his.
johnson lost his.
bush will lose his.

the south has lost every war they ever started.

iraq will be no different.

those idiot southerners are only good for sunday afternoon parades...

in their tight butt uniforms.

slave state, bush loving, phony christian, republican ******* snakes.

i wipe my azz on the confederate flag.

nothing good comes out of the south!

[pwrslm]

The government's lies
Posted by book54552134

They been lying for over 200 years. You dont really think they bought the US of A from the Indians for a handfull of beads, do ya?

Wake up. Why dont you accuse Washington of doing this, after all, Bush was not the 1st one there, right?

While we are at it, what the heck were we involved in WWII for? Some Europeans had problems, not us. Hitler didnt attack our homeland. Neither did Saddam. We should have let Saddam have Kuwait, maybe even helped him get into Saudi Arabia, no?

From what people are saying on these threads, that exactly what they want from our nation.