Comments on The Most Complete Story So Far About The Killing of Pat Tillman

I have no idea what goes on in the world of sports, but I’ve followed the Pat Tillman story since he and his brother, Kevin, enlisted in the Army and became members of the elite Army Rangers.

I dismissed him at the time as a right winger and a fool who followed Bush and the Republicans without sense and skepticism. I also felt that the R’s used his enlistment as propaganda for their wars.

I was wrong, and I’m deeply ashamed that I made such a judgment. Pat Tillman was very intelligent. He graduated from college in just 3 ½ years with a 3.84 GPA and was a prolific reader in addition to being a top athlete.

He joined the Army out a sense of patriotic duty and pride. Above all else, Pat Tillman was an idealist who truly believed in his country. I can honestly say he was a hero.

The fact that he was fragged by his own men (possibly intentionally), and that his death has been consumed by the military’s cover-ups and lies is a sickening stain on this on this nation, a tragedy of unimaginable proportions.

We didn’t just lose a patriot and a hero that day, in an age when we desperately need heroes, we lost a true leader who could have inspired people here in the USA and been successful at anything he chose to do. He even changed the outlook of a stone cold skeptic and cynic like me.

We should all strive to be more like Pat. See the following link for a biography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Tillman

Your subject title is incorrect. Sports Illustrated had an even more intensive story on Tillman a month ago.

Jen,

Thinking about Pat and the impact that he’s had on me, is there any chance that the Stranger could do a “Heroes Issue?”

One of the worst aspects of Pat’s death was that a lot of people didn’t find out what a superb person that he was until after he was gone. It would be great to find more (living) people here in Seattle or even nationally that we can admire and respect.

Mike Ruppert's site FromTheWilderness has some great in-depth reporting on the Tillman fratricide. It's much more detailed and exacting than the AP report.