Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, opening statements at August 1, 2007 congressional hearing on the death of Army Ranger, Pat Tillman.
Video Transcript
we would hear what you have to saythank you mister chairman members of the
committee you've requested that uh... weappear today to discuss our knowledge of
the circumstances surrounding the deathof u_s_ army corporal after tomfirst i want to again extend my deepest
sympathies to the tillman familypurple tillman staff and the deaths of
thousands of men and women who havegiven their lives in our nation's
service have brought great sorrowto the lives of their families and their
loved onesbears' agree felt by all who have had
the privilege of serving alongside thosein uniformhandling of the circumstances
surrounding purple tones deathcould only have added to the pain of
losing a loved onei personally and i'm sure all connected
with the department extenderdeep regretone of the department of defense is
foremost responsibilities is to tell thetruth to someof the three million military civilian
contractors employees who dedicate theircareers to defending our nationto the military families who endure the
extended absence of their fathersmothers husbands wivessons and daughtersand to the american people for whom all
of those connected to the department ofdefense strive each day to protectin march two thousand two early in my
tenure as secretary of defense i wrote amemo for the men and women of the
department of defense title principlesfor the department of defensei've attached a copynow that memo to my testimonyyou'll note that principle number one
the very firstaddresses the points that both you and
mister davis of many it says do nothingthat can raise questions about the
credibility of d_o_d_department officials must tell the truth
and must be believed to be telling thetruth or are important work is
underminedmr chairman your invitation to today's
hearing u_s_ that we'd be prepared todiscuss how we learned of the
circumstances surrounding purple tillmanstaffwhen we learned of itand whom we discussed iti'm prepared to respond to the questions
which pertain to these matters to thebest of my abilityin december two thousand six i sent a
letter to the actinginspector general of the department of
defense mister thomas kimballdescribing my best recollection of those
eventswhich by that point had occurred some
two and a half years previouslythe committee has been given a copy of
that letter and i'd like to quote aportion of itquote i'm told that i received word of
this development sometime after maytwenty two thousand four but my
recollection reflects the fact that itoccurred well over two years agoas a result i do not recall when i first
learned about the possibility thatcorporal tillman staff might have
resulted from fratricidei went on to say i'm confident that i
did not discuss this matter with anyoneoutside of the department of defenseobviously during that early period i
have subsequently tube for that perioduh...when i wrote in december two thousand
six remains my best recollection todayand when i was informed and with whom i
talked before may twentyunderstand that the may twenty two
thousanddate which shortly before their children
family was informed of the circumstanceson may twenty six two thousand fouryour invitation to appear before the
committee also asked about my knowledgeof a personal four or p four message
dated april twenty ninth two thousandfourthat message was not addressed to mei don't recall seeing it until recent
days when copies have been madeavailablethere are a great many indeed many
thousands of communications throughoutthe department of defense that the
secretary of defense does not seeand stand at the acting inspector
general's report concluded that therewere errors among some of those
responsiblefor the initial reportsany reason such as situation are most
unfortunate the two months were owed thetruth delivered in a forthright and
timely mannerand certainly the truth was owed to the
memory of the man who's valor dedicationand sacrifice to his country remains an
example for all thank you misterchairman
This ESPN Sports Century biography on Pat Tillman is divided into six parts. I think this aired in 2005. For updated information, read "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman" by Mary Tillman http://www.amazon.com/Boots-Ground-Dusk-Tribute-Tillman/dp/1594868808 and "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" by Jon Krakauer http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385522266/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594868808&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1R1ZC333SDPTXNBP09RW
Pat Tillman was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals.
In response to the September 11, 2001 incident, he passed up a $3.6 million contract and joined the Army. His sacrifice became made him a symbol of patriotism and a poster child for Army recruiters.
Pat Tillman came to his senses and turned against the wars. Through friends and family, he made contact with anti-war icon Noam Chomsky.
Perhaps Tillman was ready to make a public statement of opposition to the wars, which would have been a public relations catastrophe for the Army. We will never know. Perhaps the Army knew he was going to go public with a statement of opposition. We will never know.
Pat Tillman took three bullets through the head on April 22, 2004. He was shot at close range by his own men while on paatrol in Afghanistan.
A massive coverup followed, in which the public was told that Tillman had been killed by hostile fire. He was awarded the Silver star. The conspiracy to deceive Tillman's grieving family and the public went to the highest levels of the Army, and centered on one Lt. General Stanley McChrystal.
Eventually, the fraud was exposed, and a half-hearted congressional investigation followed.
Pat Tillman is still dead. His mother, Mary Tillman, still grieves. Lt. General Stanley McChrystal was promoted to supreme commander of the Afghan theater.
At his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Lt. Gen Stanley McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee that mistakes were made in the military's handling of the accidental shooting death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman. (June 2)
Tillman Military Scholars Richard Garcia and Melissa Stroh. Highlights from the 6th annual Pat's Run held Saturday, April 17, 2010 at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium.
Feature and coverage courtesy of Fox Sports Arizona.
The Bridge at Hoover Dam is an extended photographic essay resulting from a two-year personal project by Jamey Stillings. For more information, see: www.bridgeathooverdam.com
