Next witness Can I have you name please? Pat Tillman. Can you tell the tribunal about your family life and what lead you to the service? I grew up in San Jose, California. I loved athletics. I was fortunate to excel in school and on the football field and received a scholarship to Arizona State University. Please continue. After graduating, I was drafted into the National Football League and was enjoying a successful career in the league with the Arizona Cardinals. Where you financially compensated for playing in that league? Yes sir. When I was in my twenties, about the time the war in Iraq was initiated, I was worth in excess of several million dollars. Did you continue you career after the Iraq invasion in March of 2003? No sir. Please tell the tribunal what occurred. In 2002, I quit the NFL and volunteered for the special forces of the United States Army. My contract with the league and team was cancelled. I volunteered for deployment in the Middle East into a hot zone and worked with a great unit of men who had the daunting task of disabling I.E.D. mines while engaging the enemy. What if anything unusual happened to you during your deployment? Well sir, after a stretch of time in the desert, our group was on patrol. I was walking the point attempting to locate and identify any explosives that might threaten our mission of engagement with the Taliban. Did you successfully complete your final mission? No sir. Please provide the details for the court stenographer. It was on my..well, I can’t recall which mission, we had been in country for some time. I recall calling in air support when I saw a regimen of what appeared to be Taliban fighters over the hill, a few clicks down the road, where there was a farm and small village. Our unit was separated. I recall turning to give instructions to my radio man when I was shot in the head three times. I was killed instantly. Did you later find out if the army informed your family about your demise? Yes. I reviewed letters which indicated I was killed in combat and that I was being nominated for several medals. What was your reaction to this? Unfortunately, I was aware, and later confirmed, I was killed by friendly fire, by accident I would hope. (let the record note captain Tillman was chuckling during this response. So noted.) Did the army issue press releases confirming these circumstances? No sir: Just the opposite. The army attempted to cover up the true nature of my death, and turn it, in some odd way, into a hero’s death, to help increase recruiting figures back home. I was furious when I discovered this fact. They even hid parts of my body to confuse top investigators who reporting directly to the white house. I can’t imagine the pain this caused your family captain. One final question captain, could you tell the tribunal what you do now, at this point in time? Yes Sir. Currently, I am dead. Thank you Captain. No further questions.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 01:46:12 +0000
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