In 2004, NFL football star-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. While the Pentagon initially said Pat Tillman died heroically in an enemy ambush, the military later disclosed what it knew all along: Pat Tillman was shot and killed by his fellow soldiers. Today, his mother Mary says she still doesn't have the full story of how her son died. She's written a new book about her search for answers, "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman," which she recently discussed at the Commonwealth Club of California. We feature Mary Tillman's speech on this week's Word for Word, from American Public Media.
"Whoever is responsible for lying and covering up and embellishing Pat's death, and deceiving the public, and trying to use Pat as a propaganda tool, those people need to be held accountable. And I think the main reason they're not is because the people that are in power that have the authority to do that, are afraid to."
Listen to Mary Tillman's speech and share your thoughts below. Who should be held accountable for Pat's death? Why might "the people that are in power" be afraid to reveal the truth about how Pat Tillman died? Does this incident have implications for the families of other men and women serving in the military?
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Larissa Anderson
Producer, Word for Word
MPR | APM
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