I’m Pat #@$%ing Tillman

The Tillman Story is the tragic, unnerving, and ultimately unresolved story about the most recognized Army Ranger to have enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. The story is already pretty well-known and documented, but that doesn’t make it any less upsetting.

The Tillman Story shows us the dark side of politics, militarized fraternity, the mishandling of truth and one family’s struggle to punish those who lied to their faces. It’s raw, moving, touching and boiling over with rage. Go watch it.

If you’ve ever seen Pat Tillman play football, you’d know that holding back isn’t in his blood. Raised by his mother and father in a wilderness-enclosed home in New Almaden, CA with his two younger brothers, Pat Tillman was a born leader. A natural. “There was something that Pat knew – that just got”. Whether he was tackling opposing ballcarriers or surveying foreign terrain, Pat had that kind of charisma that would attract people to him wherever he went. As told through mouths of some of his closest friends, Pat Tillman was very much a soldier who marched to his own beat.

Pat Tillman never wanted to be an American hero. He didn’t want to be known as the man who turned down millions of dollars to fight for his country. He never asked to be America’s defining symbol of patriotism. His family’s struggle to unearth the truth and hold those responsible for the lies they were told in the months and years after his unfortunate death yielded little satisfaction. But that hasn’t stopped mother “Dannie”, father Pat, Sr., brothers Kevin & Richard, and wife Marie from fighting. Like I said, an unwavering doggedness runs in the family.

Pat Tillman was killed by fellow soldiers in a blatant incident of fratricide — death at the hands of your own brother. The absolute worst possible way to be killed while serving in the military. Had the truth come out it would have been a huge blow to the political machine fighting a losing war.

Those responsible for the cover-up have yet to be formally charged, probably because that list reads like a Who’s Who of military politicos. Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. John Abizaid, and Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal are just some of the names that the family wants to indict. These men, representatives of our great country, knowingly lied to the Tillman family and used their son, brother, and husband as a propaganda tool that North Korea wishes they had in their arsenal. The Tillman Story is a sad commentary on the power of spin and how a country can lose its integrity in the most disgustingly inhumane way possible. It’s a great documentary and one you need to watch.