"I do feel I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Pat Tillman."

[shance]

Ranger says account of Tillman's death was 'doctored'

By Mike Fish

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Almost three years ago, Bryan O'Neal says, Pat Tillman saved his life in the mountains of Afghanistan, and O'Neal gave the account of his survival to the Army as Tillman was being recommended for a Silver Star in the days that followed the incident.


On Monday, though, O'Neal told ESPN.com that someone later "doctored" the words he used to describe Tillman's actions on the April, 2004, evening in which Tillman died by friendly fire.

A mother reacts

Pat Tillman's mother Mary released a statement reacting to the government's report regarding how the military handled the death of her son.
"The briefing we just received was shamefully unacceptable," she says in the statement.


O'Neal, then an 18-year-old Army Ranger, was with Tillman and a friendly Afghan soldier when they came under fire from the trailing section of their split platoon. O'Neal credits Tillman for helping him seek cover behind a rock, while the former NFL player left his own cover to toss a smoke canister in an attempt to alert his platoon mates that they were shooting at friendlies. Under fire, Tillman and the Afghan, known only as "Thani," were killed instantly.


"Pat deserves the Silver Star," O'Neal said. "I do feel I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Pat Tillman."

O'Neal said his account of Tillman's heroics is one of the valorous statements included as part of the Silver Star recommendation. But during the recently concluded review by the Department of Defense Inspector General's Office, O'Neal learned that changes had been made to his statement.

"All I know is words were changed," O'Neal said. "The way the award statement was written was a bit off. Some things I wrote were changed. Things were doctored to be different. It is upsetting. A lot of things were written that I didn't write."

Asked for an example, O'Neal said, "Like being under enemy fire."

O'Neal said he hasn't been told who made the changes.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2814047

[wordpix]

1. whoever made the changes was no doubt ordered by BushCo/Rummy to do so

[Ilsa]

2. Mary Tillman discussed on NPR how the Army lied to her

about his death. How they could have said "It is being investigated, and we'll give you the details later," etc, but they CHOSE to lie to promote the war. She said they got upset over her getting verbally abusive towards them. Yep, she sure was, she said, and was unapologetic for it.

[shance]

3. Which if 'friendly fire' is a lie, then the killing would appear to have been intentional, would it

not?

[Ilsa]

5. MT says she cannot rule it out, but does not expect that to

be the case. The lies, of course, were all the BS over how he had been killed by enemy fire, the made up story around an act of heroism, etc, meanwhile, the Rangers are burning his uniform, etc.

[AnneD]

4. He that saves a life...

saves the world.

[shance]

6. One would hope dear Anne. One would hope.

Keep posting.

****