The Daily Background
| Video- Pat Tillman’s mother says Colonel mistreated her because of religion
by Arlen Parsa
Mary Tillman (mother of Pat Tillman) testified before the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform today that military officials treated her family disrespectfully because of their religion after they did not accept the official story behind her son’s death.
Pat Tillman was an NFL star who turned down a lucrative contract in order to become an Army Ranger after 9/11 and shipped out to go to Iraq (to fight a war he didn’t believe in). Later, he was sent to Afghanistan where he was killed by other soldiers in his platoon as part of a friendly fire incident. The military covered up the truth behind his death, and used it as a propaganda mechanism.
Watch a brief clip from Mrs Tillman’s testimony below, answering a question from Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-CA).
Transcript:
WAXMAN: … statements from people in the military, who were so condescending to you [as to] say, ‘your loss, your grief, you can’t deal with this whole thing, you can’t accept what happened.’
TILLMAN: Well basically, I would like to address that, because Lieutenant, I believe, he’s a Lieutenant General, I lose track of their ranks… No I’m sorry, he’s a Colonel, he’s still a Colonel, Colonel Kauzlaurich said, and I am appalled that he would make these comments, he’s entitled to his opinion of course, but, he said that we [the family of Pat Tillman] would never be satisfied because we’re not Christians. Spirituality doesn’t enter into this I guess in his mind, but you know, we’re not Christians, so we can’t put him [Pat] to rest. And he then, and that’s why we will never be satisfied and we’re just a pain in the ass basically.
Then he did an interview on ESPN where he basically reiterated this, I mean, to a reporter, who then put it on a website– in an actual article. He [Colonel Kauzlaurich] also said it must make us feel terrible that Pat’s worm dirt.
WAXMAN: Well that’s really horrible.
My 21 year old son was killed in a car accident 7 years ago this month. I don’t care what exactly killed him I don’t care to read the autopsy. He is dead from a car crash.
Why must the family of Pat Tillman know the little details. The fact is their son is dead because he was fighting a war. The details make no difference.
Mr. Tillman died for a cause, and you can be happy you knew him and proud of his accomplishments.
While I loved my son more than life it’s self and will miss him always, he died for no reason. At least you can say your son died doing what he believed in and serving others.
Let it go and go on.