In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, Pat Tillman, a professional football player, gave up a lucrative career with the N.F.L., enlisted in the U.S. Army and went to Afghanistan. In April 2004, Corporal Tillman’s unit reported that the former football star had been killed in combat by enemy fire. But soon other details emerged, painting a very different picture: that Tillman had been accidently gunned down by his fellow soldiers and that the military chain of command had tried to conceal the facts from his family and the American public. This Tbook, a selection of articles from The New York Times archives, shows that, despite multiple investigations by the Pentagon, there are still unanswered questions about Tillman’s death, leaving his family bitter and angry. In March 2007, an Army investigation concluded that nine officers had violated regulations by not notifying the family of the real story until 35 days after Tillman was killed. Five months later, the Army moved to stanch the controversy by censuring Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. for errors and deceptions and by apologizing to the family and the public for “mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of leadership.”
