In 2002, Pat Tillman made headlines when he turned down millions of dollars to continue as a highly regarded NFL linebacker in order to enlist in the Army. Two years later, he was killed in Afghanistan. What followed was perhaps the most shocking, crass, and disrespectful display of U.S. government-sponsored propagandizing to occur in recent memory. Despite knowing nearly right off the bat that Tillman was killed by friendly fire — by at best recklessness and at worst intent (the inconclusive facts of the investigation remain in dispute) — the Army declared his death the result of enemy fire and arranged for posthumous medals and a full military memorial, despite Tillman’s family’s insistence that it’s not what he would have wanted. And that was before they discovered that the Army’s whole story was a lie.
