A Tragic Virtue ☀
War is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics and of troops by politicians. —Chris Hedges
And the Pat Tillman story, chronicled in Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory; The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (Krakauer is also the author of Into the Wild, the story of Christopher McCandless Alaska trek made into a big screen movie), is certainly emblematic of that aforementioned adage on betrayal.
The saga of Pat Tillman may be familiar to most all — star safety for the Arizona Cardinals forsakes a NFL career measured in millions to walk on to the global war on terror, joining the elite fighting Army Rangers. His younger brother Kevin joined Pat too, in what they believed was their duty as Americans, in the wake of 9/11 attacks on America. In the spring of 2004, Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by “friendly fire”, but the Army and Bush administration conducted a coverup until grudgingly admitting that he was “probably” killed by friendly fire. But not before using him as a poster boy for the war on terror and compelling his soldier brothers from dissembling and deceiving to keep his family from the truth. All along, Pat’s mom railed at the presiding government for answers. Not certain of the final tally of investigations — I believe there’s been 3 or 4 at least, and the first one where the the possibility of criminal charges were proffered was discarded by higher-ups.
But Krakauer’s chronicle isn’t about the government coverup. Nor is it a trove of conspiracy theories speculating about a fellow soldier fragging or counter-espionage termination. It’s about the confluence of fortuitousness that led Pat Tillman to Arizona State, the NFL, and then to his tragic end in Afghanistan. With weaving of historical background on the conflict in Afghanistan, going back to pre-Osama bin Laden days.
Again, for anyone keeping abreast of this affair, no new ground is traversed. (Though I write with hesitation, as I’m not so sure cable TV news viewers are informed enough. I watch little TV, and the occasions I do, I am shocked at the difference in news coverage online vs. Fox News Channel or CNN). I believe all of the sensationalist details were previously extracted…
- …Pat Tillman was an admirer of Noam Chomsky, and arranged via an old study buddy from ASU (Reka Cseresnyes) to arrange a meeting, via Cseresnyes husband was pursuing a graduate degree at MIT.
- …Pat Tillman was an atheist and “unequivocally declared that he did not want either a chaplain or a civilian minister to officiate at any memorial services” in case of his death. And explicitly wrote in “I do not want the military to have any direct involvement with my funeral”.
- …his last words were reportedly “What are you shooting at?! I’m Pat Tillman! I’m Pat fucking TILLMAN!”
- …after his death, his uniform was burned, his notebook he specifically asked not to be discarded, and an ammo can containing his brain.
Some things I learned in reading:
- Pat Tillman did some jail time prior to his freshman year at Arizona State. In an violent altercation outside a pizza joint where ran outside to aid his friend who provoked a fight, Pat viciously assaulted one who was fleeing, who had not participated in the melee, and beat him to a pulp, knocking teeth in and striking and kicking so hard to deliver a concussion to the poor lad. A judge lessened the charge to a misdemeanor, which cleared the way for Tillman to come to ASU without fretting over a scholarship retraction for a felony committed. The victim and family were outraged, believing Tillman was granted special treatment due to his athletic standing. Pat served 30 days and had to do 250 hours of community service. According to Krakauer, this was a cornerstone event in Tillman’s development — where he resolved, not all at once, to pursue a purer path.
- It appears that fatal firefight was Tillman’s first exposure to live combat.
- Not much is mentioned about Pat’s dad in this title.
- The Jessica Lynch debacle was also fraught with friendly fire and Army/government coverup and dissembling.
Pat Tillman was an amazing man, one who swung against the tide. Honor. Duty. Courage. Loyalty. An undersized guy that worked like the dickens to attain the pinnacle of professional athleticism. Unlike his ~1500 NFL colleagues, he felt the duty to honor his country by serving and sacrificing, even for a campaign (Iraq) he did not feel was justified. He refused to skip out early from his commitment, after the NFL, Arizona Cardinals and Army agreed to allow him a special exit dispensation. Even before, as a Cardinal, he turned down millions of dollars to jump ship to the St. Louis Rams (er, I almost typed “Cardinals” again ;)) to play for not much above the league minimum. Incredulous, his agent was at Pat for spurning the free agent offer, but Pat was loyal to the Cardinals, citing how they took a flier on him, believed in him and gave him his big shot.
Perhaps I’ve just been exposed to a filtered, rose-covered viewing of Tillman’s life. With his foibles, flaws and transgressions minimized or omitted. Good writers, like Krakauer, excel in narrating as such.
Even accepting that, I’d still state that the world is a lesser place without Pat Tillman. And that it would be a heck of a better world with more Pat Tillmans.
