ENGLEWOOD - With the fourth official investigation into the friendly-fire death of Pat Tillman reportedly nearing an end, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer continues to hope Tillman's family someday will hear the truth about that April 2004 night in the rocky terrain of Afghanistan.

"I think Pat's family, they're always going to live with angst and anger with whoever made those decisions," Plummer said. "But what I think they want is to get his name cleared, to get the positive side of Pat out there, back in the forefront, not this cover-up, not all of these investigations.

"Let's focus on the amazing human being that we lost. So I think that's what they want more than anything. Let's clear this investigation and let Pat's legacy grow from there."

The latest inquiry into Tillman's death, believed to be the fourth in the 2 1/2 years since Tillman's death, is expected to conclude in about a month.

Tillman, a teammate of Plummer's with Arizona State and the Arizona Cardinals as well as a longtime friend, was killed April 22, 2004, while serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Rangers.

Tillman was killed as a result of friendly fire, but details of the night Tillman died have been murky, Plummer said, especially since the Army didn't tell Tillman's family that he had been killed by fire from U.S. soldiers for more than a month after Tillman's death.

Plummer said he read the latest revelations about the investigations into Tillman's death, items that included an Associated Press account that all four of the shooters failed to identify their targets before firing.

Tillman's brother, Kevin, a former Army Ranger who also enlisted in the Army and later joined the Rangers with Pat, recently wrote a scathing review of the U.S. efforts in the online magazine Truthdig, calling the war in Iraq "an illegal invasion."

As part of Veteran's Day weekend, the Arizona Cardinals, Tillman's former team, will put Tillman into the team's Ring of Honor on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium during a halftime ceremony.

Plummer recently recorded a video message that will be played on the stadium's video screens. Tillman's parents and his widow are expected to attend.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359.