Betrayal of an All American Hero

Brown, Mick "Betrayal of an All American Hero" Pat Tillman 07 Oct 2010 telegraph.co.us 27 May 2014

"He and O’Neal were standing only 40 yards from the shooters – close enough for whoever had shot him to clearly identify him as a 'friendly’. This was no 'fog of war’."

"The most incriminating word in McChrystal’s memo is the smallest. 'He says “if” the circumstances of Pat’s death become public, not “when”. Why would it say “if” if they weren’t trying to keep it quiet?’"

Telegraph.co.uk

"The lead vehicle of Serial 2 came into view. Seeing the Afghan militiaman, the squad leader, Sgt Greg Baker, opened fire. Hit by eight bullets, the Afghan died instantly. Following Baker’s lead, others in the lead vehicle now began spraying the ridgeline with machine-gun fire. Tillman frantically waved his arms, yelling, 'Cease fire! Friendlies!’, as he and O’Neal scrambled to take shelter behind some rocks. He then threw a smoke grenade as a signal that they were 'friendlies’. There was a lull in the fire. When Tillman broke cover, the soldiers in Baker’s vehicle opened fire again. Machine-gun fire struck the body armour on his chest and he dropped to a squatting position. According to O’Neal, Tillman continued yelling, 'I’m Pat Tillman! Cease fire!’ But the firing continued. He was hit three times in the head. His last words were 'I’m Pat ----ing Tillman’.