Introduction: Feral Firefighter's Tillman Files

Note: This introduction to the Feral Firefighter's Pat Tillman Files was originally writeen in January 2010.

I’ve taken the cover-up of Pat Tillman’s death a bit personally. Like Stan Goff, I feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman. In 1983, when I was “young and dumb,” I enlisted with an Airborne Ranger Long-Range Recon Patrol (LRRP) company. I grew up in the Army, enjoyed the camaraderie and the challenges. But, the lies of the first Gulf War were the last straw. After eight years, I finally left the Army in March 1991, and have been a firefighter the past 18 years.

Four years ago, I believed Pat Tillman was a patriotic “dumb jock”. I refused to watch any of the flag waving coverage of his memorial service. It seemed like a sideshow distraction to the Abu Gharib story.

But, the reality of Pat was much deeper than his iconic image. In October 2005, I read David Zirin’s article, “Our Hero.” I discovered a side of Pat Tillman not widely known –a fiercely independent thinker, avid reader (a favorite author was Noam Chomsky), and critic of the Bush administration and the Iraq war (“…this war is so fucking illegal”). Pat was a remarkable man who was driven by a core of honesty and integrity, led by personal example, and lived his life intensely.

I was angered that the truth about Pat’s life and death had been buried by the media and government. Tillman was enshrined as an icon while the man fell by the wayside, his parents used as props at his funeral. Pat’s family still don’t have the meager consolation of knowing the truth about his death. “The truth may be painful, but it’s the truth,” his mother said. “If you feel you’re being lied to, you can never put it to rest.”

Let us honor Pat Tillman’s memory by honoring the man, not the myth. The iconoclast, not the icon. As his mother said, “Pat would have wanted to be remembered as an individual, not as a stock figure or political prop. Pat was a real hero, not what they used him as.”

Pat Tillman, never at a loss for words himself, is now silent. Of the many tragic aspects surrounding his death, one is that he cannot define his own legacy. Now, it’s been up to his family and friends to reclaim the truth and integrity of Pat’s life and death.

. . .


A link to Gary Smith's 9-11-06 cover story "Remember His Name" is found within "Remember the Iconoclast, Not the Icon". Smith's piece is probably the single best short introduction to the Tillman story.

If you would like to learn more details about the Tillman story(much of which has never been covered in Mary Tillman's nor Jon Krakauer’s books or any other media accounts),take a look at the "Blog Archives" on the right-hand column (or scroll down).

There,I've posted the following "Tillman Files" in scrollable pdf format (click on "fullscreen"):

"REMEMBER THE ICONOCLAST, NOT THE ICON -- Pat Tillman 1976 -- 2004"

"BATTLE FOR THE TRUTH -- Iddo Netanyahu, Kevin Tillman and the Cover-Up of Their Brother's Death"

"THAT'S MY HERO" -- Rachel Corrie, Pat Tillman, and Yoni Netanyahu

"A SENSE OF HONOR -- April 2008 Letters to Mary Tillman & Senator James Webb

. . .

"THE EMPEROR'S GENERAL" -- President Obama and the Whitewash of Gen. McChrystal's role in Cover-Up of Pat Tillman's Friendly-Fire Death

"BARELY A FOOTNOTE" Superbowl XLIII & Pat Tillman

“WHERE MEN WIN GLORY” --Andrew Exum, the Center for a New American Security(CNAS), and the Whitewash of General McChrystal’s Role in the Cover-Up of Pat Tillman’s Fratricide

“LIES … BORNE OUT BY FACTS,IF NOT THE TRUTH” -- Senator James Webb, Thom Shanker & The New York Times and the Whitewash of General McChrystal’s Role in the Aftermath of Pat Tillman’s Death

“DID THEY TEACH YOU HOW TO LIE YET? -- Senator James Webb, General Stanley McChrystal,and the Betrayal of Pat Tillman



. . .


I fully realize there's a lot of material posted here, but I've tried to summarize my material at the beginning of each of the binders.

As an introduction to my "Tillman Files", here's a slightly edited comment I wrote to truthdig.com on Pat Tillman's birthday on November 6th:


“War is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics and of troops by politicians."
-- Chris Hendges


Three years ago Kevin Tillman wrote in his eloquent letter “After Pat’s Birthday”:
“Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country. ... Somehow this is tolerated. Somehow nobody is accountable for this.”

Kevin hoped a Democratic Congress would bring accountability. But, just as with warrantless wiretapping and torture, those responsible for the cover-up of his brother’s fratricide have not been held accountable by the Democratic Congress.

In his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer blamed the Bush administration. However, the cover-up has been a thoroughly bipartisan affair. The Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency have protected General McChrystal from punishment for his central role in orchestrating the cover-up.

Sometime after his April 2007 hearing, Congressman Waxman got the word the “fix” was in, to lay off McChrystal. Perhaps because of McChrystal’s covert contribution to the “surge” in Iraq? Shortly before the August 2007 Tillman hearing, McChrystal was dropped from the list of witnesses and never interviewed despite his central role in the cover-up.

Senator James Webb conducted a secret “review” of McChrystal’s role. On May 15th 2008, the Senate Armed Services Committee (headed by Levin and McCain) held a secret “executive session” where McChrystal testified behind closed doors about his actions “in detail.” Shortly afterwards, the Senate promoted him to Director of the Joint Staff.

(Like Pat Tillman, James Webb has been a maverick and a fascinating character. If anyone in Congress should have cared, it would have been him. But, as an old man and politician, he’s turned into exactly what he once reviled as a young combat Marine!)

On May 12th 2009, despite McChrystal’s role, President Obama handpicked McChrystal to be his new commander of the Afghan War and for promotion to the Army’s highest rank. Ironically, on the following day Obama gave the commencement address at Arizona State University inside Sun Devil Stadium without once mentioning Pat Tillman! [Note: see Bob Young’s “Obama’s Big-Time Fumble” (Arizona Republic 5-17-09].

After a pro forma June 2nd hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate (begged by Senator Reid) confirmed McChrystal’s promotion on June 10th.

It’s not surprising that after the initial fratricide cover-up fell apart, Army officers and the Bush administration lied to protect their careers. Reprehensible, but understandable. But the Democratic Congress, after they took control of both Houses in 2006, could have gone after those responsible. Or at least not promoted them!

. . .

The media’s been complicit as well with the whitewash of the Tillman story. The New York Time’s Thom Shanker wrote a May 26th piece “clearing” McChrystal of all wrong-doing shortly before McChrystal’s confirmation hearing, despite receiving strong evidence to the contrary. since then, Thom’s enjoyed favorable access to McChrystal (so much for the NYT’s coverage “without fear or favor’!) On September 21st I sent a copy of my binder "Lies ... Borne Out by Facts, If Not the Truth" to the New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt. I never received a reply from him.

. . .

Just before McChrystal’s June 2nd Senate confirmation hearing, Andrew Exum (a Fellow at the Washington think-tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS)wrote a blog entry entitled "Confirm Him!":

“The bottom line is, nothing is ever going to heal the wounds inflicted on the Tillman Family … And while I have nothing but respect for the Tillman Family…, their personal grief should not be a veto on the nomination of the man the president, the Secretary of Defense, and General Petraeus all feel gives the United States and its allies the best chance of victory in Afghanistan …”


In his subsequent September 13th Washington Post review of Jon Krakauer’s book,“Where Men Win Glory – The Odyssey of Pat Tillman,” Andrew Exum neglected to mention General McChrystal’s central role in cover-up of Pat Tillman's fratricide.

Exum also failed to disclose his close personal and professional ties with McChrystal: Exum is a “fan” of McChrystal, worked with him closely during the past summer Afghan War assessement, and works for Nate Fick’s [LT in “Generation Kill” book and HBO series]CNAS that meets with McChrystal weekly and is leading the push for the Afghan surge.

On November 1st's "Meet the Press" show, Jon Krakauer accused General McChrystal of lying about his role in the cover-up of the Tillman fratricide. In response, Andrew Exum posted an entry in his CNAS “Abu Maquwama” blog blasting Krakauer, “On Martial Virtue … and Selling Jon Krakauer’s Crappy New Book."

Andrew Exum wrote: “Stan McChrystal stands out as one of the guys who made mistakes but ultimately did the right thing … probably the least culpable guy in Tillman’s chain of command … Stan McChrystal is one of the finest men I have ever known, and I hope I have sons who serve under men like him.” Well, as one blogger commented, “Phew, talk about a man crush.”

Before reading Exum’s blog entry, I had assumed that Andrew Exum and CNAS were part of the bipartisan “conspiracy” protecting General McChrystal, and Exum had written his book review to whitewash General McChrystal’s central role in orchestrating the cover-up of Pat Tillman’s fratricide.

Now, I think Andrew Exum is either good at feigning self-righteous outrage or is woefully ignorant of the most basic facts of the Tillman case. Regardless, he and CNAS obviously have personal and professional conflicts of interests with writing about General McChrystal's role in the Tillman case.

Five years ago, Pat Tillman’s family were handed a tarnished Silver Star. It was a travesty of justice that General McChrystal was promoted to the Army’s highest rank, and handed his fourth star.

. . .

One of my binders is entitled “Battle for the Truth.” Jonathan (Yoni) Netanayahu was another character cast from the same mold as Pat Tillman. When I first learned of Pat the iconoclast (vs the media icon), I was immediately reminded of Yoni. Although they were separated by 27 years, both were charismatic individuals driven who lived and died with intensity and integrity. Both Achilles-like and “slain in the high places.” The similarities, despite the obvious differences, between their stories is eerie. Ironically, Yoni truly died heroically, killed while saving hostages at Entebbe. But it would have been embarrassing to mention that he died because the mission went FUBAR and that there were friendly fire deaths, so the IDF told the story he was shot in the back by a stray burst of fire.

Afterwards, Max Hastings wrote a book “Yoni - Hero of Entebbe” similar to Krakauer's “Where Men Win Glory” in that it provided a bibliography of Yoni, described the battle at Entebbe, and used interviews with family members and his own words from his letters. Later, Yoni’s brothers edited Yoni’s letters and published them as “Self Portrait of a Hero.” A powerful book.