‘The Tillman Story’ – Pat Tillman, Hero and Victim – NYTimes
There is a distinction to be made. In an epoch in which our leaders have led us astray, sending our youth to illegitimate wars where purpose can only be found in staying alive, there is a discernment to be made between wars and the people who are sent to wage them. It is a nuance often dismissed both domestically and abroad in the midst of anti-American war sentiments, an issue pertinent today in the case of the Iraq War. It was also a burden shouldered by returnees in unpopular, lamentable conflicts like the Vietnam War and the First Indochina War, where soldiers had fought in punitive conditions for a government which did not apparently value their lives enough to send them to a justified armed conflict motivated by well-intentioned virtuous ideologies, only to return home the subject of contempt and scorn by their fellow countrymen, who deemed them perpetrators of superfluous cruelty in a seemingly socio-politically unrelated world. Yet it is a frivolous rationale to condemn human beings, dropped in erratic, perilous terrain, for choices made by their superiors, elected by the people for their mental acumen and thus their decision-making prowess, or, even worse, to somehow approve of American casualties. It is equally frustrating to witness leaders send kids to a front line where they won’t be able to fight for a better world, because that battle is not in Iraq. Of course, it begs the question if it is at all conceivable to fight for a better world.
Putting any kind of assessment of its quality aside, “The Tillman Story” demonstrates how one soldier, Pat Tillman, decided to enlist shortly after the events of September 11th to “fight the good fight”, only to be betrayed by his superiors stretching all the way to the top of the political spectrum. Over the course of the documentary, righteous humility and a broad-minded tolerance of cultural and religious diversity are qualities used to define Mr. Tillman, depicted as a soldier highly disillusioned with the legitimacy of the Iraq War, all the more disturbing when his face is dishonestly used post-mortem to evoke a modern-day Stakhanov of sorts, further impressing upon the apathetic manner in which the powers-that-be see their troops, essentially like pawns to a chess board. In what may seem like a self-evident truth, the stark reality of teenagers being cast in mature roles of realpolitik necessitating educated nerves and astute minds is one of absolute absurdity and is essentially a fictitious one. Many of these recruits aren’t old enough to grasp whether or not they are fighting for the right reasons, and some are too young to care. Or in the case of Pat Tillman, they could become victims of this unscrupulous system and have their identities violated and legacy defiled long after having pulled their last trigger.
Note-worthy: “This war is so fucking illegal.”
– Pat Tillman’s first reaction upon arrival in Iraq, as told by squad mate Jason Parsons
I love the smell of napalm in the morning
Le Razor's Edge 
