Losing him was bad enough.
But then, on Memorial Day weekend of all times, we had to learn how.
The news that Cpl. Pat Tillman probably was shot to death by fellow soldiers in the confusion of a nighttime firefight in Afghanistan last month staggered Valley residents and left military officials scrambling to provide answers.
Tillman was on the minds of several hundred people who gathered Saturday morning in American West Arena to honor Arizona veterans and watch a live telecast of the dedication of the World War II monument in Washington, D.C.
"It was disturbing," said Russell Martin, 61, of Peoria,a former Army rifle platoon leader and company commander in Vietnam.
"But nothing can take away from the great things Pat did, the great man he was."
 |
More information
|
Martin wore an American Legion cap, a red poppy pinned to his shirt and had a small U.S. flag on a stick poking out of his breast pocket. He said he had "a pal" in Vietnam who was wounded by friendly fire, the military term for accidental combat shootings among allied forces.
"When you get in a situation like that, it can be crazy. Pat may have just been maneuvering into the line of fire. Who knows? I just hope nobody tries to sensationalize it."
At Fort Bragg, N.C., top leaders of the Special Operations Command confirmed a report, first published Saturday in
The Arizona Republic and a California newspaper, that Tillman likely was killed by fellow soldiers.
"While there was no one specific finding of fault, the investigation results indicate that Corporal Tillman died as a probable result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces," said Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger Jr., commander of Special Operations.
Kensinger released an "unclassified executive summary" of the investigation into Tillman's April 22 death.
The report said Tillman's platoon split into two units, one assigned to tow a disabled military vehicle to a spot where it could be recovered; the other continued on patrol. Both units were made up of U.S. Rangers and soldiers of the new Afghan Military Forces.
"Approximately 30 minutes after the platoon split off in their separate directions, the section (with the disabled vehicle) was ambushed," the report read.
Tillman's unit heard the firing, "maneuvered to the location of the ambush and engaged in the fight."
"During the firefight that ensued an AMF soldier who was engaging enemy forces was misidentified by a Ranger squad leader as being part of the enemy force and was attacked," the report read. "Other members of the platoon, observing the direction of fire by the squad leader, oriented their fire in the same direction. This fire fatally wounded one Ranger (Tillman) and the AMF soldier."
The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed official in Afghanistan, reported Saturday that Tillman's unit never came under attack from enemy forces. Instead, the unnamed official said, the two units of Tillman's platoon drifted apart and began firing at each other after a land mine exploded somewhere between the groups.
Marine Capt. Bruce Frame, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, denied that report. He said the Afghan source had inaccurate information.
Tillman, a former professional football player and standout at Arizona State University, drew national attention when he walked away from a $3.6 million contract extension offer from the Arizona Cardinals and joined the Army in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor in combat, and promoted from specialist to corporal for his actions in his final battle.
News that Tillman likely was killed by friendly forces stunned many and angered others.
"Why'd they have to announce it on Memorial Day?" asked David Sapp, 47, of Glendale, a security guard at Saturday's salute to veterans at America West Arena. "You think they could have waited another week or so."
But Bryan Rensema, 27, a Tempe chemist, spoke for most when he said the details of how Tillman died were painful but almost irrelevant.
"I don't think it necessarily diminishes his status or anything," Rensema said. "He's just as much a hero as anybody else who goes over there and serves.
"It's too bad he got killed by friendly fire. . . . But what can you do?"
Reporters Billy House and Lindsey Collom and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
