The wartime heroism of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and Pfc. Jessica Lynch made for riveting stories. He died in a fierce firefight with the enemy. She was captured after raining shots on her attackers.
The military took great pains to propagate these yarns. The trouble is, as a disgusted nation heard in detail this week, the stories weren’t true. Congressional hearings have exposed two abhorrent examples of how Defense Department officials spun tragic events into public relations boons. Further investigation has been promised and certainly is appropriate.
Initially, the 2004 death of Pat Tillman, a former NFL star, was portrayed as a tragic firefight in the mountains of Afghanistan. The Army said Tillman was killed by the enemy, and posthumously promoted him to corporal and awarded him the Silver Star.
For weeks, the Army kept secret that Tillman had been killed by fellow soldiers and even destroyed evidence. Another soldier there that day, Spec. Bryan O’Neal, told Congress he immediately knew Tillman was killed by friendly fire. He wanted to tell his brother, Kevin Tillman, who was serving in the same platoon but did not see the incident. O’Neal said he was muzzled immediately, ordered not to tell anyone, particularly Kevin Tillman. He also said he didn’t write the statements attributed to him about Pat Tillman’s “engaging the enemy” in a recommendation that Tillman be awarded the Silver Star.
Last month, the Pentagon issued a report saying there was no evidence of a cover-up in Tillman’s death, a development the Tillman family blasted as “shamefully unacceptable.” In testimony to Congress, Kevin Tillman said his brother’s death was manipulated by officials who wanted to make it into “an inspirational message.”
Similarly, Lynch testified Tuesday the account of her 2003 capture was twisted to portray her as a “little girl Rambo from the hills who went down fighting.” At the time, stories in the news media attributed to anonymous military sources said Lynch fought until her ammunition ran out. The truth is that Lynch didn’t fire a shot and was severely injured when the Humvee she was riding in crashed during the firefight.
“I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary,” Lynch said.
The military’s botched attempts to manipulate these stories are reprehensible. Particularly in the Tillman case, the result was more pain for a family who already had lost their son. Congress has pledged to continue inquiries to find out who was involved in the deception. The nation deserves the full truth in these matters, not a twisted and sanitized version.
