Pat Tillman
Arthur: Merlin, what's the most important quality in a knight?
Merlin: Well, it's courage, it's chivalry,
it's duty to your people, it's.....
Arthur: Stop wandering around! What is it, really?
Merlin: All right, I'll tell you! It's truth!
Every time you tell a lie, you murder some part of the world.
--Excalibur (1981)
I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth
--Just Gimme Some Truth, John Lennon
Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. . .
don't never lie to a Ranger or officer
--Northwest Passage, Kenneth Roberts
________________
There is a photo of Corporal Pat Tillman in the Ranger section at the National Infantry Museum captioned by a patriotic blurb about what a swell fellow Cpl. Tillman was for abandoning a seductive big league ball career and joining the Rangers. But it also tells a lie.
The fact that Tillman was a great American and a fine man and Ranger is an indisputable fact. But the plaque concludes by saying the Cpl. Tillman died as the result of enemy fire, in an ambush. Which is a crock of crap.
Merlin: Well, it's courage, it's chivalry,
it's duty to your people, it's.....
Arthur: Stop wandering around! What is it, really?
Merlin: All right, I'll tell you! It's truth!
Every time you tell a lie, you murder some part of the world.
--Excalibur (1981)
I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth
--Just Gimme Some Truth, John Lennon
Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. . .
don't never lie to a Ranger or officer
--Northwest Passage, Kenneth Roberts
________________
There is a photo of Corporal Pat Tillman in the Ranger section at the National Infantry Museum captioned by a patriotic blurb about what a swell fellow Cpl. Tillman was for abandoning a seductive big league ball career and joining the Rangers. But it also tells a lie.
The fact that Tillman was a great American and a fine man and Ranger is an indisputable fact. But the plaque concludes by saying the Cpl. Tillman died as the result of enemy fire, in an ambush. Which is a crock of crap.
The fact of his death in a friendly fire barrage was not mentioned. Ditto that fact that there were no enemy within rifle range. This propaganda is being pushed with my tax dollars, and it is a lie.
Lies are not a part of the Ranger creed and they violate Roger's Rules for Rangers. The Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) is a lie, as is the museum's version of Tillman's tragic death. Where does it end?
Is truth no longer a Ranger or an Infantry virtue? Tillman didn't die for our freedom; he died under exceptionally well-targeted friendly fire.
Ranger mourns not only the death of Tillman but the death of truth.
Labels: lies about pat tillman's death, Pat Tillman, ranger room at infantry museum
11 Comments:
I really enjoy your blog- you have an interesting perspective and not being a military person, I can learn a lot from it.
I have read things about Tillman's death and watched what seemed like a good documentary about it but I still don't really understand how the Army was able to get away with this cover-up and there have been so many other similar stories- where families were lied to about the cause of death but because the person killed wasn't famous, it just didn't get much press attention.
How can the military engage in this sort of orchestrated attempt to lie for propaganda purposes without hardly any accountability or consequence?
Stacy,
Bless your heart child.
Some of us have driven ourselves to the brink of sanity and compassion wondering how the Army/Government/Politicos/Churchmen/Teachers/
neighbors/friends and ex-wives/lovers have lived so long with their heads stuck...
in the sand.
My granddad once asked me if I knew what the trouble with lying was, why it never worked?
I didn't, so he replied:
"You have to remember the first one."
Much of our national existence is such a huge lie the lumpen will never realize, understand or act on if they lives depended on it.
One day it will.
May be too late already.
In our current configuration, the military is accountable to no one save the Directors of the Corporation and the bottom line.
It's been this way all my living years.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Deryle
Stacy,
I'm so glad that you read the blog- I always thought that only old crusts were on board. Seriously we try to make this pwot understandeable but that's quite a task.
Indeed how do we the people allow this propaganda to happen. It's even hard to call this agitprop b/c propaganda usually posseses a once of truth. Not so the Pwot.
Tillman was a hero as are all Rangers and it's a criminal act to waste their lives for naught.
jim
Deryl
With a little editing this reply could be turned into a poem.
You sweet tongued devil!
jim
I think it's a lot worse than that, Ranger. Suggested evidence from the Army Medical examiner was that they felt that the Army should investigate Mr. Tillman's death as a homicide.
:::cough:::FRAGGING:::cough:::
Apparently Mr. Tillman's last words before he was killed was to tell a panicky fellow soldier to stop sniveling.
Anyway, pretty much the case is closed...the way the Army hoped it would be from the beginning because nothing says "BULLSHIT!" to the war propaganda than having your star celebrity cut down by a fellow soldier.
samcooke,
Based on what I've read thus far, your granddad was a font of wisdom. I greedily hope to continue reading his lesson via your comments.
Stacy,
After some thought I'd like to add that to my knowledge everybody involved in this incident have been promoted. From Company/BN/to Mc Chrystal.
jim
Tillman was a hero as are all Rangers and it's a criminal act to waste their lives for naught.
Amen. And so many look at me askewed when I say the best way to help the Soldier is to bring him home!
How much longer can the PWOT last? I guess as long as our global creditors keep giving us the coins -- because it sure does not look like our celebrity addled public gives a whit about ending it... much less the truth behind events like Cpl Tillman's death.
SP
PS - how can one forget to mention the speed at which a former presidential candidate swooped in to ensure high vlaor awards and higher-rated TV audience saw the tributes? Yet another reason to say JSMIII shamed the man who returned from a Vietnam prison.
UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE!!!
I wonder if Pat's Family is aware of this? The Events surrounding his death and who he was as an independent Patriot who saw Iraq for the massive goatfuck it is is A BLACK STAIN that will not go away anytime soon. Please someone tell me where I can go raise hell about this!
RangerHazen,
Pat Tillman's mother, Mary lives in San Jose. We have contacted her co-writer, Narda Zacchino, and offered Ranger's expertise, if it could ever be of any help to them.
I do not know where Ms. Tillman's inquiry stands today. We have registered complaint with the Infantry Museum.
Tillman was indeed an independent thinker who dared to to speak his mind.
Ranger Hazen,
I was going to let this article slide but decided not to let it die.
Tillmans mother was rather critical of LIBERAL BLOGGERS in some of the stuff that I read . We offered our services as Lisa said but to no avail.
The tragedy continues. I hope his mother sees this essay but I will not disturb her by bringing it to her attn.
I'm considering sending my article to the CMDT/ INFY SCH/CTR.Possibly the post IG
jim
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