'Like He Died Twice': Mary Tillman's Lonely Quest

[RedEarth]

If it had happened to someone else, Pat would be busting through walls to find the truth," said Mary Tillman, mother of Pat Tillman--NFL player, Army ranger and casualty of war.

Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan under shadowy circumstances that still pose more questions than answers. The media initially reported that Pat was killed by the Taliban. Weeks later it was revealed that it was a case of "friendly fire." Now, after four years, six investigations and two Congressional hearings, questions still linger about how Pat died, why it was covered up and who, in fact, knew.

Mary Tillman and her very private family are determined to go through whatever walls are in front of them, in a lonely quest for the truth. They want to expose the cover-up surrounding Pat's death. They also want to expose a criminal administration, an illegal war in Iraq and the way organizations like the NFL have been quick to exploit Pat's memory while doing nothing to help search for the truth.

Speaking with Tillman about her new book, Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman, I found not a just a grieving parent, but a fierce advocate, a fighter with the kind of steady strength that is simply humbling.

What are some of the reasons that you wrote the book?

I wanted the public to understand what the military and government had done in trying to use Pat as a propaganda tool for the purposes of basically deflecting attention away from the serious things that were happening in the month of April 2004--such as Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, the President's approval ratings and the rising casualties; and also to use him as a martyr to rally support and patriotic feeling for the war in Iraq.

How do you explain to yourself the extraordinary lengths that the Pentagon went to in or

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080609/zirin2/print

[The Traveler]

1. Far more powerful to me

is the manner in which Tillman lived his life. His motto "Take it in the forehead" was an expression of his determination to accept complete responsibility for his life. Deeds and words were important to this man. It is revealing that he was determined to meet with Noam Chomsky upon his return to the U.S. Tillman was a man of courage, honor ... and it does appear a man of deeply held liberal values.

Having said that, I want to know the truth about the manner of his death. I want that for his family, but I also want it for the people of this nation.

[Sunnyshine]

3. Pat Tillman's courage and honor lives on. I think he would've loved hanging at DU.

Thanks for posting his motto, I never knew that about him. It fits his head on approach to life.
I'm going to buy Mary Tillman's book this weekend, as I forgot when it was due to come out.

:patriot: Pat and Kevin Tillman and their family are true American patriots. :patriot:

[Sunnyshine]

2. Thanks for this update. I think of Pat and the Tillman family often.

I want answers for them and for everyone. I think one day it will come out. Not soon enough though.

[MasonJar]

4. Having been reminded of the things being revealed about Bush and his

war at the time of Tillman's death and of Tillman's intention to meet with Chomsky and perhaps become an anti-Iraq spokesman, I am even more convinced that his death was no accident.