Reply #54: Here's the fake story cooked up by the DOD, as reported on 4/30/2004...

[VOX]

...and picked up by USA Today. It's a complete and utter fabrication.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2004-04-30-...
USA Today
Posted 4/30/2004
Tillman posthumously awarded prestigious Silver Star
By Billy House, The Arizona Republic

WASHINGTON — Pat Tillman died while leading a team of Army Rangers up a remote southeastern Afghan hill to knock out enemy fire that had pinned down other American soldiers, the Army said Friday.

The Army released details of the former Arizona Cardinals football player's death as it announced that he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, its third-highest award for combat valor.

Tillman, 27, and his team were initially not in danger from the hostile small-arms and mortar fire when the April 22 ambush began. But when the rear section of their convoy became pinned down in rough terrain, Tillman ordered his team out of its vehicles "to take the fight to the enemy forces" on the higher ground.

As Tillman and other soldiers neared the hill's crest, he directed his team into firing positions, the Army said. As he sprayed the enemy positions with fire from his automatic rifle, he was shot and killed. The Army said his actions helped the trapped soldiers maneuver to safety "without taking a single casualty."

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