Jessica Lynch And Pat Tillman: They Could Not Be Heroes

BRITS can complain all they like about the US military’s stonewalling of the investigation into the ‘friendly fire’ killing of eight British servicemen in Iraq. It seems the US Army shows little empathy for its own men and women.

The family of Army Ranger Pat Tillman appeared before a Congressional hearing yesterday to protest the lies told about Tillman, whose 2004 death while serving in Afghanstian was treated as an act of heroism in battle despite the fact that army superiors knew otherwise.

Tillman’s sacrifice was spun as all the more heroic after it emerged that he had turned down a $3.6 million (£1.8 million) contract with the Arizona Cardinals NFL team to join the Army in the wake of September 11. Now, his death appears all the more tragic.

His brother Kevin, who enlisted around the same time and who was traveling in a nearby convoy when his brother was killed, told the hearing that he later found out Pat’s last words were: “Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat f—–g Tillman, dammit!”

He said the Army deliberately covered up the truth to so that the Tillman legend would seep into the national psyche and provide inspiration for other young men to sign up, adding that the falsehood had “inspired countless Americans, as intended.”

“We believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly the American public,” he told the hearing.

Pat Tillman’s colleague, Army Spc. Bryan O’Neal, said he was ordered by superiors not to tell Kevin that Tillman had been killed by his own men. Tillman’s mother Mary accused former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of knowing about the coverup.

The Tillman family was supported by another veteran, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who claims she too was used as a PR tool by the Army.

Lynch was captured in 2003 when her Humvee crashed during a firefight shortly after the beginning of the Iraq War. Officials claimed that she bravely fought off her attackers before being overwhelmed. But Lynch claims she never fired a shot.

“I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary,” Lynch told the hearing.

“The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes and they don’t need to be told elaborate lies,” she said.

Anorak

Posted: 25th, April 2007 | In: Anorak In New York Comments (5) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink