What Really Happened To Pat Tillman?

His Mother Tells 60 Minutes The Govt. Still Hasn't Told The Whole Truth About Her Son's Death

(CBS)  Pat Tillman was a heroic face of the war on terror - an NFL star who left behind a $3.6 million contract and his new wife to fight for his country after the attacks of Sept. 11. When he died in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, the Army told his family he'd been killed by enemy fire after courageously charging up a hill to protect his fellow Army Rangers.

But as Katie Couric reports, that story didn't hold up. He had really been killed by friendly fire, shot accidentally by his fellow soldiers.

For the past four years, his family, led by his mother Mary, has been searching for answers about what really happened, beginning the day she heard the news from Pat Tillman's wife Marie.

---

"And she answered the phone just the way she always does. Her voice sounded just the same. And I just sort of breathed a sigh of relief, like, 'Oh, you know, everything's fine.' And I said, 'What's wrong, what's wrong?' And she said, 'He's dead.' And I said, 'Who's dead?' And she said, 'Pat's dead.' Within minutes of that, the Army had sent a soldier, a young, female soldier, to come tell me about what had happened," Mary Tillman remembers.

Asked what the soldier told her, Tillman says, "She said that he was shot getting out of a vehicle. He was shot in the head getting out of a vehicle. And that's basically all she knew."

Eleven days after his death, Pat Tillman’s family held a memorial service in their hometown of San Jose, Calif.

At that time, Tillman's family was led to believe that he was killed by the enemy, which was reinforced when the Army awarded him a Silver Star for his "gallantry in action against an armed enemy." They were told his convoy had been ambushed and he had charged up a hill, forcing the enemy to withdraw and saving the lives of his fellow Rangers.

"Was there any solace in the story the military told you about how courageous Pat had been?" Couric asks.

"Well, of course. But what's interesting is the story itself seemed so contrived, even then, even before he knew that it was contrived. It had this contrived feel to it," Tillman says.

Asked why, she says, "Well, you know, the soldier, you know, running up the ridge line, firing at the enemy. You know, saving his men. It did sound kind of like a John Wayne movie."

Then, about a month later there was a stunning announcement: the Army had been investigating his death and determined that Tillman was killed by his own men.

Asked how long she thinks it took the Army to realize her son had been killed by friendly fire, Tillman says, "Oh, they knew immediately. It was pretty evident right away. All the other soldiers on the ridge line suspected that that's exactly what happened."

Tillman says it took the Army five weeks to tell her. "Even the time lapse is not what is so disturbing to us. If they didn't tell us right away exactly what happened, I mean, it would seem to me that because of the clandestine nature of the Rangers, they could've easily said, 'Well, this is, you know, we can't really divulge this,'" she says.

"It's under investigation," Couric remarks.

"It’s under investigation. You know, they could've said anything. But they made up a story," Tillman says.

"Made up" a story, Mary contends, because when her son had left behind his football career to join the Army Rangers, he'd become one of the most high-profile soldiers in the U.S. military. He'd signed up to fight al Qaeda following Sept. 11, and talked about the importance of service one day after the attacks.

"You know, my great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor, and a lot of my family has given up, has gone and fought in wars, and I really haven't done a damn thing, as far as laying myself on the line like that. And so I have a great deal of appreciation for those who have," Pat Tillman said at the time.

After her son's death, Mary Tillman says she never felt like she got the straight story. And so the divorced middle school teacher launched her own investigation. Combing through Army documents, she found inconsistencies in the official military account. Tillman's brother Kevin was in the back of the convoy, but hadn't seen what happened. So she tracked down some other Rangers who were there that day.

While there is some disagreement about the details of what happened the day Tillman was killed, the Rangers 60 Minutes spoke with said it began when their commanders made a critical error, splitting their convoy into two groups as they moved through Taliban territory.

"That was a pretty scary situation you were driving into and you knew it?" Couric asks.

"And we knew it, absolutely," Russell Baer replies.

"We can all identify that feeling as we drove into that canyon and we knew this is not a good spot," Brad Jacobson adds.

[newo2000]

The man is a genuine American hero... absolutely one of a kind... take care of his mother... tell her what she wants to know...

[inventagod2]

Pat was sacrificed and Rumsfeld used his death for recruitment...
All in a days work for PNAC traitors.

[randynason]

Tillman is another in a long, long list of soldiers killed by "friendly" fire. Our government wants to cover this up too, because they have no right answer. Our officials are as corrupt and dark as they come, all the while pretending to be representitives of a free and democratic government. How can we allow these acts to continue, without speaking out against them?

[rudy654-2009]

All in a days work for PNAC traitors.


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Posted by Inventagod2 at 03:00 PM

Yet we hear so little of the PNAC members, the same people who needed a new Pearl Harbor to initiate their plans.

[mcvet]

I don''''t want to offend anyone,but think of this bit:
-Pat Tillman was kind of a bully who didn''''t have a knack for the gentler side-he got bossy at the wrong time and he got fragged.


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Posted by mediapreachr at 03:06 PM : May 01, 2008
+ report abuse

You fascist amaze me how little you actually know about Combat!! ROFLMAO Any vet who has ACTUALLY been in Combat KNOWS YOU are a liar!! I''ll let you figure out how! Sieg Heil Bush

[truthspeake2]

Wow, she doesn''t believe the story our government has told her huh...does that make her "unpatriotic"???

[love4all2]

Pat Tillman was one of a kind. All the brave men and women of the armed forces are one of a kind. This is a tragic cover up. they are letting her hang out to dry. they think she will go away and I hope she does not

[trillion1]

She has a better chance of getting blood out of a stone as getting the truth from this goverment.

[excoachken]

Mary, your son was just 1 of 4000 sons of our country who have been exploited, used up, and discarded by the Cowardly Cowboy''s Crew of Crooks They do what the feel and never put their own blood on the line.

[jerr11]

My heart goes out to this poor mother!

To lose a son in war is always hard but to lose it in a needless war based on lies and profiteering, that''s got to hurt!

[haoli25]

Tillman was used as a recruitment ploy in an effort to sell this war. When he was shipped out, his "cash value" ended. His life or death are no more important to this government than any of the other 4,000 killed or 36,000 wounded.

[artiejoe68]

Does everyone know that a government official even said to Mrs. Tillman that she should not be sad over her son''s death because he was not a christian? Just part of this outrageous story of lies and deceit hat epitomizes the Bush Crime Family and their unjust war. It will be years before we know the full scope of the high crimes and misdemeanors of Bush/Cheney & Co...

[prinzowhales]

The truth about the murder of Randy Tillman will be what it was previously--He was going to come out against the war and he was gunned down so that the Regime would have a dead hero rather than a live liability.

Congress-- vile, contemptible, degenerate, mealy-mouthed, worm tongued scoundrels that compose it-- has yet to bring the Regime to account for lying the United States into the Stupid Peoples'' War....Do you think they are going to vigorously pursue anything that might interfer with THEIR war for Oil, Israel, and Opium?

[gce65]

She''ll never get the truth from the Pentagon! These are people who kill people for a living and lure others to do the same! What kind of honesty or honor could they have?
Starting back in the 1800''s has the military ever honored even one contract with native American tribes? The rest follows.

[gce65]

CBS: Not covering this? The WaPost is.

Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; Page A03

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years.

"We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect."

Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin''s previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought.

Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous.

MORE ON WA POST WEBSITE

[cbsblogger]

Demslie.....I call true negligence having George W. Bush as President assigning cabinet positions and deputies and establishing the leaders in our military chain of command.

Mrs Tillmans quest has nothing to do with money and if I was her I%u2019d expend my last breath trying to find the truth. Her son has proven his patriotism far beyond most Americans. Some of those in his chain of command have already proven that they are lying ***, because they lied to the family about the circumstances initially, and it''s a given that once a liar always a liar.

[jumkey]

The irony of "demslie" lying about and dismissing one of the most public and blatant Republican lies is appalling but typical of the party of dishonesty.

But then what would a liar call himself anyway, since the truth is clearly meaningless?

Honesty and integrity are meaningless platitudes in the Republican/Conservative world view, and this is demonstrated by every lie Demslie tells.

[excoachken]

To jamessm12341: Wrong again James. I am a registered Independent, not a Liberal and I was serving in the Army (1968-70) before you learned you neo-con mentality growing up in the 80''s. My empathy for Mrs. Tillman is based upon having played college football like her heroic son did and presently having two nephews in Iraq. They have be exploited and abused by Cheyney and Bush, who never went to war, other than the John Wayne (another Republican draft dodger)films of their youth.

[inventagod2]

With an administration this unkind and untruthful, is there any wonder there is such hatred of Bu$h and company?
The creep unearthed many of Iran/Contra''s traitors and put them back in power.
The traitor followed the PNAC plan, and let NYC be attacked to justify an illegal oil grab.
Bu$h is responsible for each 9/11 death, and all of those dead in his fake wars....

Our current admin was using Pat Tillman''s death in Afghanistan for publicity.

Be careful what you wish for.

Thanks Pat for your service.

[veteran72]

Mrs. Tillman can find the Cowardly, Treasonous, Perps responsible for her son''s murder at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. These same Traitorous Scumbags murdered over 4000 other American Military members, along with a million Iraqi men, women, and children.
Sadly, they walk free yet today.

My heartfelt advice to the Tillmans: let it go. Move on.


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Posted by michaelt302 at 08:57 PM : May 01, 2008

So for those of us in the NYC and DC vicinity almost 7 years ago, should we "let it go" that Osama bin Laden has yet to be brought to justice for his atrocities on our soil?

What hardship have you "let go" so far?

[antoniof123]

Posted by michaelt302 at 08:57 PM : May 01, 2008

So for those of us in the NYC and DC vicinity almost 7 years ago, should we "let it go" that Osama bin Laden has yet to be brought to justice for his atrocities on our soil?

What hardship have you "let go" so far?

Posted by RJMay3 at 09:05 PM : May 01, 2008

Dear Mary you have to understand the neo con prarty does not like facts or the truth. They just want to blame Clinton for a BJ and say they are the family value party of god.

Well I for one and most of America we will deal with the family value party of god in November.

They talk big but I can assure you there day is almost over and they know it.

Good night and good luck; from the 1950''s oh yes and the neo con party was out of power for an entire generation.

[hermitdave]

Sorry Mrs. Tillman but your son was the Pentagons dream PR soldier. At the time they killed him they needed good PR more than anything else. The football story was pure gold to upset the masses and make them scream their approval of the build up of the WAR machine. It is a shame you son did not understand that 9/11 was not planned and carried out by a bunch of Afghan goat herders in a cave. He would have made a great spokesman for the 9/11 TRUTH people like me.

[barbaraf4]

"My heartfelt advice to the Tillmans: let it go. Move on." Posted by michaelt302
~~~~~~
"So for those of us in the NYC and DC vicinity almost 7 years ago, should we "let it go" that Osama bin Laden has yet to be brought to justice for his atrocities on our soil?" What hardship have you "let go" so far?" Posted by RJMay3
~~~~~~
Yes, let it go. You will sleep better at night and forgiveness is good for your soul. Plus, it has yet to be proven that bin Laden was actually responsible for 9/11. There are those of us who believe otherwise. As for what I have had to let go? For starters, the death of my mother when I was 14 years old.

You will sleep better at night and forgiveness is good for your soul. Plus, it has yet to be proven that bin Laden was actually responsible for 9/11. There are those of us who believe otherwise.

Posted by barbaraf4 at 10:13 PM : May 01, 2008

So by your thinking, we wrongly attacked TWO countries in recent history! If Bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11, why did we go into Afghanistan?

And you think I''ll sleep better if I go by your belief? Where''s Freddy Krueger and Jason Myers when I need them???

[hermitdave]

Bush started the Afghan crusade for two reasons. Make sure we had control of the oil pipeline, make sure that the poppy growers would produce record crops every year.

[nothappyatall]

My heartfelt advice to the Tillmans: let it go. Move on.
-------------------------------
Posted by michaelt302

"So for those of us in the NYC and DC vicinity almost 7 years ago, should we "let it go" that Osama bin Laden has yet to be brought to justice for his atrocities on our soil?
What hardship have you "let go" so far?
Posted by RJMay3

Yes, you SHOULD let it go, theres NOTHING that can be done that will bring them back or make anything right- *WE* brought 9/11 on ourselves by what WE did, 9/11 was a REACTION not a cause out of the blue watch his videos he spells out EXACTLY why he ordered the attacks- several times he clearly stated why, we refuse to acknowledge it was our meddling over there, embargos, threats, blackmail, arming one against another etc that led up to the attacks.

OBL will never be brought to "justice" he is an old man, he''ll be dead anyway in a few years.

[nothappyatall]

So by your thinking, we wrongly attacked TWO countries in recent history! If Bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11, why did we go into Afghanistan?

Posted by RJMay3"

Why did we have a Bay of Tonkin incident that never happened and was proven to be a ruse to invade and attack Vietnam?
Why did we attack a country we KNEW had no WMD''s and nothing to do with 9/11? answer: Bush KNEW they had no WMD''s and were SAFE to attack, had they had WMD''s they would have wiped out tens of thousands of our guys or more in one sweep, Bush took the "chance" because he knew there was NO chance taking- it was safe because Sadumb had NO WMD''s

[stn_sage]

I wish the Tillman family luck in their search for the truth. They''re not likely to find it until years in the future when all the principals---political and military---are retired and/or dead! THEN, it will be safe to tell the truth when no justice can be applied to the perpetrators!

The fact his uniform was destroyed suggests that he was shot at close range. Meaning---probably shot in the back by his fellow Rangers! The ramifications of this are obvious: this govt isn''t going to admit that happened!

Examination of the body would indicate the range from which he was shot---again, probably up close.

The real question is: WHY? Was he too gung-ho,and disliked by his fellow soldiers? Was he refusing ''to look the other way'' concerning some misdeed he knew about? Anyway, he didn''t deserve a ''friendly fire'' death!

He believed in his country and he volunteered to fight in a ''trumped up'' war! The political and military leaders of America dishonored him and the public, too. They''ve acted contrary to the very principles this country is supposed to stand for!

Let each of us honor our fallen in our thoughts in spite of those who despitefully use them for their own purposes!

[taylor2124]

Just exactly WHAT, at this point so far down the road, would satisfy Mary Tillman in a case like this? I''ll tell you: nothing. Anything short of her son coming back from the dead will leave her miserable and bitter. After all this time and investigations, does she expect a DIFFERENT story to come out? And if it does, how would she know THAT story was true, and the previous ones weren''t ? Folks, we''ve gotten as much information and testimony as we are going to get with this story. Either be satisfied with it and move on, or remain miserable and suspicious, and chronically search for plots and conspiracies where there are none. Take your choice.

[stn_sage]

She direspects her son by making it about her and what she needs. He died in war, like many others! The exact story doesn''''t matter, he''''s just as dead no matter what the story is. She needs to move on, and stay out of the spotlight for fear of looking like...
Posted by logicgal1 at 04:15 PM : May 01, 2008
-------------------------------------------------
My response: I think your assessment is a little harsh.
First, any parent would want to know the exact cause of death of their child.

Second, I doubt she is or means to ''make it about her''. It''s in the best interest of every citizen to know what happened!

Third, how it happened, matters very much! It reflects on whether we can trust govt or NOT!

Fourth, she''ll move on when she''s ready.

Fifth, Being the parent, she can''t help but be in the ''spotlight''.

Finally, I hope you''ll spend a little time and reflect on what you''ve said in your post. It doesn''t appear well-thought out.

[ranger1948]

I think it is for the Tillmans to decide when it is time to move on. It looks like a cover up to me and if so they will never know the truth. Remember the investigation was done by the govt on the govt, what do you think they will say ? We have had so many coverups in the past by our govt, been lied to about everything for years. And for the wonam''girl who said the Til;lmans were dishopnoring their son, you know nothing you stupid little *** so sht the hell up. Yopu have never been in the military or a war zone so you have no idea of reality.

[ranger1948]

newsterl1
You are probably to young to know about Vietnam. the French were losiong to the North Vietnamese and didn'';t want to surrender to them so they had a change of command ceremony where we stepped in and the french went home in 1954. That is how we got involved in Vietnam. When Kennedy was president he wanted to increas our troops from advisor capacity to fighting troops. Nguyen Van Ygiem the president of Vietnam told him that it was the Vietnamese peoples wear let them fight it. Kennedy did not like that so a month later the South Vietnamese president was executed and Nguyen Van Thu took over as president and our puppet, that is when the American buildup started. Two months later Kennedy was assinated.

[tulcak]

the tillmans should never rest until the the whole truth comes out. this publicity stunt, which involved the whole of Cpl. Tillman''s military career, was used to bolster the support for bush''s military policies. As is typical of bush and his administration, all of his policies are based on lies and misinformation. This is only one sad example of the manipulations of bush and company, there are many, many more. From the shredding of the constitution with the patriot act to give the executive branch unlimited power ("if the president does it, it must be legal") to the outing of a CIA operative, to lying us into a war, bush and his administration are the worst in U.S. history. AND THEY ARE REPUBLICANS. Anyone who is left who is still unconvinced are obtuse and stubborn beyond rational thinking.

[tulcak]

"I swear that the sacrifice of those constrained by death, whose last anguished cry was freedom, shall never be forgotten or betrayed."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave
---------------------------
someone who just wants unending war forever... sad...

[tulcak]

The ghost of Cpl. Tillman:
"why did my government lie about my death?"
"why did they lie to my family about my death?"
"The truth about my death needs to be told, because, I have no voice of my own anymore. Thankfully, my family has given me a voice"

[tulcak]

You can choose war as the solution, or you can choose peace. Peace is impossible if you hate. Hate is what drives people to war, not the idea of freedom. When we wage war, we are not free and we are not brave. We have failed. WE MUST TALK TO OUR "ENEMIES". If we don''t, we will never be able to stop terrorism. The failure to hold a dialogue is exactly WHY there is terrorism and war. But, there are those that want never ending war because of the depth of their hatred towards those people who live in the middle-east.

[tulcak]

humanavance, hmmm... you seem to be pretty full of yourselves. your comments I agree with, but, there is a tang of self-righteousness in them. however, having said that, I appreciate your sentiments. i checked out your site, maybe you''d check out mine at:
http://tom-humanism.blogspot.com/

[brianbwb-2009]

"why did my government lie about my death?" Posted by tulcak

Because even the government''s truth is a lie, they would say that he was killed, under whatever circumstances, in a "war" whose entire reason for being is a lie.

If they tell the real truth, they must then immediately surrender to face justice, this is why Mrs. Tillman will never know the truth, except if she comes to understand it through her own reasoning.

[tulcak]

my advice to mrs tillman is to read the libs posts on here...all of them....she needs to let it go and move on or she will end up pathetic and whiny like the libs on here...and that is no way to live
Posted by jamesm12341
----------------------------
IF people like you or Mrs. Tillman had listened to the "libs" in the first place we would have focused all our attention on Afganistan and capturing osama bin laden... instead, bush placed almost all of our military into Iraq and stretching our forces way too thin in Afganistan... possibly, this tragedy could have been prevented.

[barbaraf4]

"So by your thinking, we wrongly attacked TWO countries in recent history! If Bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11, why did we go into Afghanistan?"
Posted by RJMay3
~~~~~~~~
Yes, we wrongly attacked two countries in recent history. We went into Afghanistan as a threshold to Iraq. Why? Because we have a puppet President who''s strings are being pulled by Halliburton and Cheney. Follow the money.

And the reason you need to get over it and let it go is that if you are still hyperventilating over this, 7 years later, then you are facing some serious health problems in the future.

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by jamesm12341

So you''re saying, in essence, "get over it."

A testament to your sociopath tendencies. To many people very much unlike yourself, the lives of their loved ones has value, and their deaths are events that cannot be dismissed as some inconsequential thing, as the price to pay for some meaningless pretense of sacrifice for an ideology that exists only in your mind.

[brianbwb-2009]

"And the reason you need to get over it and let it go is that if you are still hyperventilating over this, 7 years later, then you are facing some serious health problems in the future." Posted by barbaraf4

Your assessment is almost correct, but we also made the same false flag invasion of Vietnam, many of those criminals are the beneficiaries of the same mistakes we are making now, this corrupt wasting of lives has been going on for far too long.

Get over it? Hell no, sooner than later we must stop allowing greedy politicians and corporations, unless you are prepared to "get over" the loss of your own loved ones (maybe even yourself) in the future.

If we have given up, and submit to being cannon fodder for those who really couldn''t care less about us, then we deserve to lose our lives, and those of our loved ones.

[texanforlogi]

And these are the so-called patriots who parrot "support our troops". Mrs. Tillman, my prayers are with you.

[inventagod2]

The Bu$h administration is Big Business, nothing more.
Truth does not enter the equasion.
Sorry, Mary Tillman.

[creeper00]

"We made mistake after mistake. We failed in our duty to her. But, we''ve had seven investigations%u2026a congressional investigation and they have all concluded that there was no deceit - no intentional deceit - no cover-up,"

I guess if you conduct enough phony investigations you can claim the truth was told.

[tulcak]

how many things should we "get over"? being lied into an illegal war, waging an illegal war, election 2000 fraud, outing a CIA operative, cheney''s secret energy meeting, cheney and haliburton''s no contest bidding, 4000 troops dead, 15,000 maimed, the patriot act, a failed economy, devaluation of the dollar, recession, housing market crisis, hurricane katrina, Cpl. Tillman coverup?
how many things should we "get over"?

[macusweil]

George W Bush? & The truth?? Just insert "not telling" to complete the sentence on any topic of interest.

[talkingham]

Yeah Army investigations ain''t got no Matlock to dig for the truth. After all we can''t handle the truth in the USA. The first 3 investigations of Vietnam Mei Lai massacre including the one "high level investigation" conducted by Bush "truth" teller Colin Liar Powell concluded the massacre did not happen. I imagine Powell has some used WMD mobil laboratories he would like to sell all of us.

The troops I''ve talked to back from Afgannistan say our whole "occupation" is a joke. "If you call hiding inside our compounds to avoid casualties an occupation, then we got Afghannistan occupied," told to me by a special forces soldier who had just returned home to his now divorced family. Wife was busy while he was away.

They''ve lied from day one about Tillma and will carry their lies the rest of their lives. Of course Tillman, might have done somethign really stupid in combat and needed to be shot but we''ll never know.