A Sense of Honor -- Letters to Mary Tillman & Senator Webb (April 3, 2008)

8/14/2019 A Sense of Honor -- Letters to Mary Tillman & Senator Webb (April 3, 2008)

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A SENSE OF HONORPat Tillman & Senator James Webb

April 3, 2008Guy Montag, feralfirefighter.blogspot.com

Here is the steak dinner, but were giving it to you on this garbage can cover. You know,you got it, you work it.

-- General Yellen, Deputy Commander SOCOM

I found myself awash with a sense of injustice that I could not define. Or perhaps it was merelythat I was young. I had never seen with such clarity that courage could destroy one man

while flight could make another man king.-- James Webb, The Emperors General


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A SENSE OF HONOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PDF Page

LETTER TO MARY TILLMAN (FEBRUARY 4th

2008) 3

LETTER TO SENATOR JAMES WEBB (APRIL 3rd

2008) 12

. . .

AFTER PATS BIRTHDAY (Kevin Tillman, 2006) 19

BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK (Mary Tillman, 2008) 23

HEARING ON MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIELD: 26

Excerpts from transcript of Kevin Tillmans Testimony, 4-24-07 27

Excerpts from transcript of Mary Tillmans Testimony, 4-24-07 29

NOTES FROM THE NOVELS OF JAMES WEBB: 31

* Something to Die For James Webb, 1992 32

Fields of Fire James Webb, 1978 34

A Country Such as This James Webb, 1983 36

A Sense of Honor James Webb, 1981 38

The Emperors General James Webb, 1999


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February 4, 2008

Mary Tillman,

Stan Goff mentioned that you and Narda Zacchino are working together on amemoir about Pat Tillman. I am writing to suggest you ask Senator JamesWebb to review your book.

Ive been reading James Webbs novels for almost 30 years, starting before Ienlisted with an Airborne LRRP unit [SSGT 1983 -1991, Co. F (Ranger)425th Infantry, MI Army National Guard]. Webb is a self-proclaimedredneck and can be blunt and outspoken. I havent always agreed with hisopinions, especially those concerning the wisdom of the Vietnam War. But

its clear to me that he is a man of integrity and honesty. And for 30 yearshe has written novels with themes of betrayal, honor, integrity, and justice.

Webb's novel, "Something to Die For" (1990), is reminiscent of the cover-upof Pat Tillman's death. The novel centers on a Marine named Fogarty whofights a mistaken battle in Africa because of political games by the Secretaryof Defense. The nature of his death is covered up. He's posthumouslyawarded the Medal of Honor by the President during a nationally televisedstate funeral service [see Appendix B]:

Ron Holcomb [Secretary of Defense] never told a lie, at least not in the wayhe could be caught in it. But he was a master dissembler, Holcombsprepared speech had been given a spin As a consequence, the remarkswere a mix of bald truth, diplomatic half-truths, and what Holcomb hadprivately called necessary, unconfirmable distortions. Nonetheless, theywould become the governments official pronouncement on the days action. And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehandthat their allegations were borne out by facts if not the truth.

He [Secretary of Defense] knows the administrations position on the matterwas a cover-up. Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didnt

want the president to look bad.

God save me from manipulative bureaucrats in polyester-wool suits, buttondown collars and power ties, and the kiss ass officers who let them get awaywith it. I dont need to see my men die because somebody cares more abouthelping the careers of their fellow madrigal singers over in the White House.or the State Department than they do about the troops they compromise andmisuse in places like Beirut and the Persian Gulf.


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James Webbs novel A Sense of Honor (1981) is a prequel to Something toDie For. The novel takes place during one week at the Naval Academy in1968. Captain Lenahan is a Marine officer stationed at the Academy. Heand Cadet Fogarty are scape-goated by the brass to cover their ass [see

Appendix C]:

I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of myplace in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none ofthose certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, soeager to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.

Poetry will sustain your emotions. Its the lightning rod of the soul. Dontbe afraid to be sensitive, just because youre a hard-ass. Nay, whatevercomes/One hour was sunlit and the most high gods/May not make boast ofany better thing/Than to have watched that hour as it passed. Theres apoem for you. Ezra Pound He [Lenahans son] is sensitive and fierce, a

poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He is, in fact, myself in amatchbox.

The Emperors General (1999) is a historical novel that deals with GeneralMacArthurs military commission war-crimes trial of Japanese General

Yamashita. Webbs sympathies lie with the honorable Yamashita whodisplayed majime, the wisdom and courage to eliminate any distinctionsbetween his actions and inner thoughts [see Appendix D]: what hes [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. Were Americans,

Captain. Were supposedly bringing an accused man into the Americansystem of justice. ... MacArthurs not a lawyer, and this isnt a court! Hesconvened a military commission! Its notacourt. Its his own littlecreation. I reminded him that were supposed to be operating undertraditional American concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice.

And do you know what he told me? Were in a hurry. Do you realizewhat this trialif you can call it a trialthis illegal, judgelesscommissionis going to look like? Its going to be nothing but a public circus!

The trial was finally over. It was December 6. MacArthur, with hispenchant for anniversaries, had arranged for the verdict to be read to the

world during a live, fifteen-minute radio address on Pearl Harbor Day. [Frank Witherspoon] filed a petition to the Supreme Court. . GeneralMacArthur has taken the law into his own hands, is disregarding the laws ofthe United States and the Constitution, and has no authority from Congressor the president.

Despite a scathing dissent the Court declined to intervene in the case. ...since the war would not be officially over until formal peace documents were


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signed, MacArthur still retained the power to convene a military commissionso long as a state of war exists. This indictment in effect permitted themilitary commission to make the crime whatever it willed. Such a procedureis unworthy of our people.

Webbs most recent book isBorn Fighting (2004) a history of the Scots-Irish in America. The book contains auto-biographical material and hints ofWebbs independent, populist political views. I find it poignant that Webbsown father opposed him risking his life in Vietnam as a Marine. Today,perhaps Webb feels the same about his own son in Iraq? [see Appendix E]:

My own father [career Air Force colonel], who had defined for me the notionof loyalty, became disgusted with McNamaras whiz kids after beingassigned to the Pentagon in 1965. he urged me more than once to go intothe navy, find myself a nice ship where I could, as he so often put it, sit inthe wardroom and eat ice cream, and not risk myself as a Marine my

father put in his papers to retire from the air force [after Webbs graduationfrom Annapolis], telling me he couldnt bear to watch it while still wearinga military uniform this strategically botched war [Vietnam] was notworth my life.

. . .

James Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968 and graduated 1stin his Officer Basic course. He fought in Vietnam, was highly decorated andleft the Marines with a bad knee. He received his law degree fromGeorgetown University in 1975. Webb has worked as a lawyer, journalist,

and novelist over past 20 years. During the 1980s, he was an AssistantSecretary of Defense for three years and was the Secretary of the Navy (heresigned after serving a year).

If youd like to learn more about James Webb, I would suggest you go to hiswebsites: jameswebb.com and webb.senate.gov. I would also highlyrecommend reading Robert Timbergs book The Nightingales Song (1995).This book defies genres. It is an absorbing biography/history/politicalanalysis of the Reagan Iran Contra era centered on five Annapolisgraduates: John McCain, John Pointexter, Bud McFarlane, Oliver North,and James Webb.

Webb spoke out against the current Iraq War before it started (and againstthe first Gulf War as well). His only son left college to enlist in the Marinesis now an infantryman in the Anbar province of Iraq. Webb has fiercelyprotected his sons privacy and refused all public comment, even to PresidentBush [see Appendix A]:


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Last year, Webb narrowly won George Allens Virginia Senate seat andbecame the Senates 51st Democratic member (I was happy to see that mypaltry campaign contributions helped him to edge out Allen by 4,000 votes!)

Already, the Washington establishment has targeted Webb as a troublesomemaverick. As they well should! (But, I dont think the Democrats will be

any happier with him). Webb has always been outspoken and his own man..

If the latest and greatest investigation by the Defense DepartmentInspector General does not satisfy the Tillman family, I believe James Webbmight be interested in assisting the Tillman family in their battle for thetruth. As a Senator on the Armed Services committee, Webb could possiblypush for Senate hearings (Perhaps they might turn out better than lastyears House hearings?).

Feel free to contact me for more information or clarifications. I hope this

letter has provided some useful information for the Tillman family.

Sincerely,

***********

Firefighter, ****************** 1991presentSSGT, Co F (Ranger) 425th Infantry, MI Army National Guard 19831991

P.S.In 2004, Webb gave a lecture entitled Perspectives of an American RoninA ronin is a Samurai warrior who has no master except the truth. Thatshow Ive felt since leaving the Army in 1991 in disgust over the 1st Gulf War.Perhaps Kevin Tillman feels the same way [see Appendix F](Unfortunately, I havent yet been able to get my hands on a transcript ofthat lecture yet).


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**********************************************************************

APPENDIX A: Webb Vs. Bush

***********************************************************************

Bush, Webb exchange chilly words about war

Bob Lewis

Associated Press

November 30, 2006

RICHMOND, Va.Democratic Sen.-elect Jim Webb avoided the receiving line during a recent Whi

House reception for new members of Congress and had a chilly exchange with President Bush over thIraq war and his Marine son.

"How's your boy?" Webb, in an interview Wednesday, recalled Bush asking during the reception twoweeks ago.

"I told him I'd like to get them out of Iraq," Webb said.

"That's not what I asked. How's your boy?" the president replied, according to Webb.

At that point, Webb said, Bush got a response similar to what reporters and others who had asked We

about Lance Cpl. Jimmy Webb, 24, have received since the young man left for Iraq around Labor Da"I told him that was between my boy and me."

Webb, a leading critic of the Iraq war, said that he had avoided the receiving line and photo op withBush, but that the president found him. The White House had no comment on the reception.

Webb, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War and Navy secretary under President Reagan, left the GOin part over the Iraq war. He warned against the invasion, and criticized Bush over Iraq during the

Senate campaign.

He said he meant no disrespect to the presidency during the reception, but "I've always made a

distinction about not speaking personally about my son."

In interviews during the campaign, Webb said it was wrong to elevate the role of one Marine overothers. Webb also expressed concern that a high profile could subject a Marine to greater peril.
https://webmail.grand-rapids.mi.us/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news/bylines.asp?bylinename=Bob%2520Lewis%2520https://webmail.grand-rapids.mi.us/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news/bylines.asp?bylinename=Bob%2520Lewis%2520


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In Following His Own Script, Webb May Test Senate's Limits

By Michael D. Shear

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 29, 2006; A01

Note: I only included excerpts from this article

If the exchange with Bush two weeks ago is any indication, Webb won't be a wallflower, especially

when it comes to the war in Iraq. And he won't stick to a script drafted by top Democrats.

"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," Webb sai

in an interview yesterday in which he confirmed the exchange between him and Bush. "No offense tothe institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his

administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the

message is."

"He's not a typical politician. He really has deep convictions," said Schumer, who headed the Senate

Democrats' campaign arm. "We saw this in the campaign. We would have disagreements. But when

you made a persuasive argument, he would say, 'You're right.' I am truly not worried about it. Heunderstands the need to be part of a team."

One senior Democratic staff member on Capitol Hill, who spoke on condition that he not be identifieso he could speak freely about the new senator, said that Webb's lack of political polish was part of h

charm as a candidate but could be a problem as a senator.

"I think he's going to be a total pain. He is going to do things his own way. That's a good thing and a

bad thing," the staff member said.

"He is not a backslapper," Kaine said. "There are different models that succeed in politics. There's the

hail-fellow-well-met model of backslapping. That's not his style."

"There are no senators who have that everyday anxiety that he has as a dad with a youngster on the

front lines. That gives him gravitas and credibility on this issue," Kaine said. "People in the Senate, I

sure, will agree with him or disagree with him on issue to issue. But they won't doubt that he's comingat it from a real sense of duty."


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NOTE: the following referenced notes have been deleted here. Refer to the section NOTES FROM

THE NOVELS OF JAMES WEBB:

APPENDIX B

************************************************************************

8-23-06

SOMETHING TO DIE FOR

James Webb (1991; paperback Avon Books 1992)

************************************************************************

APPENDIX C************************************************************************

8-23-06

A SENSE OF HONOR

James Webb (1981; Bluejacket Press 1995)

**********************************************************************

APPENDIX D

***********************************************************************

11-12-06

THE EMPERORS GENERAL

James Webb (Hardcover, 1999)

The following are notes from this historical novel centered about General MacArthurs military

commission trial of Japanese General Yamashita for war-crimes in Manila. (Not a shining preceden

for todays Military Commissions Act just passed by Congress). Senator James Webbs thirst for

justice and honor is clearly shown in this book:


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*********************************************************************

APPENDIX E*********************************************************************

11-12-06

BORN FIGHTINGHow the Scots-Irish Shaped America

James Webb (2004, Hardcover)

8 The slurs stick to me, standing on their graves. Rednecks. Trailer-park trash. Racists.

Cannon fodder. My ancestors. Me.

343 We face the world on our feet and not on our knees. We were born fighting. And if thcause is right, we will never retreat.

312 My professional career in writing and government is entirely accidental. At the

Naval Academy, I became one of six finalists for the position of brigade commander, and was one of 18 in my class of 841 to receive a special commendation for leadership

I had graduated first in my class of 243 [at Officer Basic].

311 My own father, who had defined for me the notion of loyalty, became disgusted with

McNamaras whiz kids after begin assigned to the Pentagon in 1965. . he urged

more than once to go into the navy, find myself a nice ship where I could, as he so oft

put it, sit in the wardroom and eat ice cream, and not risk myself as a Marine my

father put in his papers to retire from the air force, telling me he couldnt bear to wat

it while still wearing a military uniform this strategically botched war was not womy life.

288 In their view Americas political elites, both Republican and Democrat, have grown

together into an almost indiscernible hybrid royalty that offers them little to choosefrom in terms of how the nation is actually being governed.


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********************************************************************

APPENDIX F: PERSPECTIVES OF AN AMERICAN RONIN********************************************************************

11-12-06Contact: Toni Dixon, School of Business, (785) 864-4449,[email protected].

Ex-Navy secretary, best-selling author James Webb to present

lecture at KU

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas School of Business and International Center for Ethics in

Business have announced that former Secretary of the Navy and best-selling author James Webb will

give the 2004 Walter S. Sutton Ethics Lecture at 7 p.m. April 28 in the Woodruff Auditorium of Kan

Memorial Union.

The lecture, "Perspectives of an American Ronin," is free to the public and tickets are not required

[A ronin is a Samurai warrior who has no master except the truth.]

Webb became secretary of the Navy in 1987, the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in

the military and then become Navy secretary. He resigned a year later after refusing to agree with the

reduction of the Navy's force structure during congressionally mandated budget cuts. More recently, has been a strong vocal critic of President George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.

Webb served with the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam and received the Navy Cross, the Silver StarMedal, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He received his law degree from Georgetown

University.

He has written six best-selling novels, including "Fields of Fire," considered by many to be the classi

novel of the Vietnam War. His original story, "Rules of Engagement," was made into a movie starrin

Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. He has traveled worldwide as a journalist, and his PBS

coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut earned him an Emmy Award from the National Academy ofTelevision Arts and Sciences.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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April 3, 2008

Dear Senator James Webb,

Four years ago Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Six

investigations and two Congressional hearings later, Pats family is still struggling tolearn the truth about the circumstances of his death and those involved in the cover-up of

his fratricide.

Mary Tillman, Pats mother, has written a memoir,Boots on the Ground by Dusk: The Life

and Death of Pat Tillman. Her book will be released on April 29th

.

Im writing to ask that you consider becoming an advocate in the Senate for Mary

Tillmans struggle for the truth. Perhaps you could arrange to meet Mary in May during

the Washington D.C. leg of her national book tour? Marys home phone is (408) ***-****. Her editor at Rodale Press is Leigh Haber (212) ***-****. Her publicist is Beth

Davey (212) ***-****.

I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family. They are

Scots-Irish. Military service was prevalent and respected in their family (e.g. Marysfather was a Marine in the Korean War). Like your own son, Pat did not feel he should

remain privileged during a time of war. After 9/11 he enlisted (with his brother Kevin) andthey fought together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was driven by honesty,

integrity, and loyalty. He lived his life intensely, was well-read, and was an independent

thinker; sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long.

Ive read your books for thirty years, starting before my eight years in the Army and

continued my past seventeen years as a firefighter. After recently re-reading your novels, I

noticed several parallels between Pat Tillmans fratricide and your novels:

In Something to Die For, Col. Fogarty was ordered into a mistaken battle, posthumouslyawarded the Medal of Honor, and eulogized by the President during a televised memorialservice. The mistaken battle was covered-up. Similarly, a dangerous order resulted in Pat

Tillmans fratricide. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and eulogized by

Senator McCain during a televised memorial service. Tillmans fratricide was covered-up

by Army generals, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and the White House.

In Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges lost men after he was ordered to place them into a dangerous

LP. Later, Hodges was shot during a firefight around a disabled tank. Similarly, Lt.Uthlaut was ordered by his TOC to split his platoon, despite his repeated protests, to both

get boots on the ground by dusk and escort a disabled humvee. During the resulting

fratricide Uthlaut and his RO were wounded and Pat Tillman killed by criminally negligentfriendly fire.

InA Sense of Honor, Cpt. Lenahan and Fogarty were kicked out of the Naval Academy to

protect their superiors from a hazing scandal. Similarly, Lt. Uthlaut (First Captain atWest Point) was offered up as a scapegoat and kicked out of his Ranger Battalion.

In The Emperors General, Army lawyer Frank Witherspoon railed against the injustice of

General MacArthurs war-crimes trial of Japanese General Yamashita. Just before the

2006 elections, Kevin Tillman railed against recent injustices in After Pats Birthday.


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Last year, on April 24, 2007, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a

hearing entitled Hearing on Misleading Information from the Battlefield.

Kevin Tillman, Pats brother, began his testimony with a prepared statement:

Two days ago marked the third anniversary of the death of my older brother, Pat Tillman,in Afghanistan. To our family and friends, it was a devastating loss. To the nation, it was

a moment of disorientation. To the military, it was a nightmare. But to others within the

government, it appears to have been an opportunity.

Revealing that Pats death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster

... So the facts needed to be suppressed. An alternative narrative had to beconstructed. Crucial evidence was destroyed including Pats uniform, equipment and

notebook. The autopsy was not done according to regulation, and a field hospital report

was falsified. An initial investigation completed before testimony could be changed [and which hit disturbingly close to the mark] disappeared into thin air and was

conveniently replaced by another investigation with more palatable findings.

while each investigation gathered more information, the mountain of evidence was

never used to arrive at an honest or even sensible conclusion. The handling of thesituation after the firefight was described as a compilation of missteps, inaccuracies and

errors in judgment which created the perception of concealment.

Writing a Silver Star award before a single eye witness account is taken is not a misstep.Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. Discarding an(15-6) investigation that does not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment.

These are deliberate acts of deceit. This is not the perception of concealment. This is

concealment.

Mary Tillman, Pats mother, also testified at that hearing about the fratricide cover-up:

We had officers that we trusted. We had high regard for them. in your heart they areyour kids and you turn them over, and we trusted. Certainly, we knew they could die or

they could come back wounded But we never thought that they would use him (Pat) the

way they did.

[Mary wrote: the Army was placed in a position to spin the narrative of Pats death (General) Yellen stated it was like, It went up to the 2-star level and the 2-star took it

right to the 4-star level now all of a sudden, Here is the steak dinner, but were

giving it to you on this garbage can cover. You know, You got it. You work it.]

And we shouldnt be allowed to have smokescreens thrown in our face. in every way,they (Army CID investigators) dodged. They are dodging us, and the (Department ofDefense) IG condoned that even though they make the public believe they did such a grand

job because they pointed the finger at four generals and five other officers. That is a

smokescreen. These officers are scapegoats.

It is a bit disingenuous to think that the (Bush) Administration did not know about whatwas going on, something so politically sensitive. The fact that he (Pat) would be killed

by friendly fire and no one would tell (Defense Secretary) Rumsfeld is ludicrous the

idea that they wouldnt tell Abizaid (Centcom commander) what was going on if he didntalready know is ridiculous.


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I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family:

The Tillmans are of Scots-Irish descent. Pats picture is among those of famous

Americans featured on the cover of Parade Magazines October 3, 2004 issue, entitled

Can You Guess What They All Have in Common? (adapted fromBorn Fighting.)

Military service was prevalent and respected in the Tillman family. Mary Tillmans uncles

were at Pearl Harbor, her brother was a Marine, and her father was a Marine during theKorean War. Mary wrote, From the time I was very little, I was aware of my fathers

pride in being a Marine. When I was three years old I would stand between my parents,feet digging into the soft leather of the big front seat, and sing the entire Marine Corps

Hymn at the top of my lungs.

Your own son chose to leave college to enlist with the Marines. Likewise, Pat Tillmanchose to leave a multi-million dollar NFL contract (and new wife) to enlist in the Rangers

with his brother Kevin. Pat didnt feel that he ought to remain privileged while others

were sent to fight. As his mother testified, Pat had high ideals for the country. He did,

and he thought it was imperfect. He certainly didnt join for political reasons. He thought

the country was in need. It didnt matter who was in office. It didnt matter which partyhe voted for. That is beside the point. The country was in need.

(Ironically, Pat and Kevin were later sent to fight in Iraq although they had come to

believe, in Pats words, This war is so fucking illegal.)

Similarly, in Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges said, They were only soldiers. They had neverowned or determined the reasons for a war, and they had not asked for this one. They had

merely yielded to their honor and tradition and agreed to fight it. And they were not

wrong, not wrong.

Pat Tillman was driven by a core of honesty, integrity, and loyalty. His mother wrote, Patwas honest and incorruptible; he would be offended and outraged about the actions takenin the aftermath of his death. Honor, integrity, dignity; those werent just adjectives inPat Tillmans life; they were his life. Pat Tillman was the embodiment of loyalty and

commitment. He was such a loyal person. He always wanted to do right by the people

who mattered to him.

Similarly, inA Country Such As This, Senator Judd Smith said, If nothing ever works out

all the way, and if all things change, whats left? Your family and your friends and your

values, thats whats left. And your duty to them. Theyre the only important things in

life. And that the rest of it might change a million times, be called wrong or right or

anything else, but you must never violate your loyalty if you wished to survive thejudgment of the ages.

Pat Tillman lived his life intensely, led by example, and went all out every play. He was

well-read and an independent thinker. In school, he earned a 3.84 grade-point average.Pat had written in his journal since he was sixteen years old (his wartime journal was

lost by the Army immediately after his death).

Pat Tillman was a character much like Cpt. Lenahan and cadet Fogarty in A Sense of

Honor: He is sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He is,

in fact, myself in a matchbox.


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Over the past thirty years Ive read all your books. I started with Fields of Fire as ateenager, and continued reading your books during my eight years serving in an Airborne

LRRP company [SSGT, 1983 -1991, Co. F (Ranger) 425th

Infantry MI Army National

Guard] and my past seventeen years as a firefighter with the ********************.

After recently re-reading your books, I noticed several parallels between your novels

and Pat Tillmans fratricide:

In Something to DieFor, Col. Fogarty was ordered to place his Marines into a precarious

fight in Eritrea. This mistaken battle was covered-up by the Secretary of Defense andFogarty was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by the President during a

nationally televised funeral service:

He [Secretary of Defense] knows the administrations position on the matter was acover-up. Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didnt want thepresident to look bad.

Ron Holcomb [Secretary of Defense] never told a lie, at least not in the way he

could be caught in it. As a consequence, the remarks were a mix of bald truth,diplomatic half-truths, and what Holcomb had privately called necessary,

unconfirmable distortions.Nonetheless, they would become the governmentsofficial pronouncement on the days action.

And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehand that theirallegations were borne out by facts if not the truth.

Similarly, Pat Tillman died as a result of a dangerous order to split his platoon, was

posthumously awarded the Silver Star, and his memorial service was televised with

Senator McCain among the dignitaries offering eulogies. Tillmans fratricide was covered-

up by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Army generals and the White House.

In Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges lost three of his men because he was ordered by Lt. Kersey

(at the Battalion command post) to put them out into a dangerous LP:

LPs on the other side of this wire are crazy as hell. The rule I use is, would Ithink it made any sense if I got sent out on it? And I wouldnt. So I dont like it.

Now, if the Lieutenant believes the LP shouldnt be out there, I suggest he go talk

with the battalion staff.

Hodges did not know how to force his point. Cant ask for more than having the

Big Six consider it, I reckon.

Bullshit. He (1stLt. Kersey) aint gonna talk to the Colonel about this. As

long as hes looking good to the Man, he couldnt give a rats ass how many people

are bleeding.

He (Lt. Hodges) had met a dozen Kerseys in the Marine Corps already. They

held all ranks, although to him they seemed to be mostly Majors.


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Lt. Uthlaut was Pats platoon leader. His platoon had been held up by a broken

humvee. Maj. Hodne at the TOC wanted boots on the ground by dusk in thevillage of Manah merely so he could mark that task accomplished on-time on his

checklist. Major Hodne, through Cpt. Saunders, ordered Lt. Uthlaut to split hisplatoon. Half would go to Manah, and half would escort the humvee to the

highway for pick-up. Lt. Uthlaut thought it was dangerous and unnecessary to split

his platoon. He repeatedly argued the point with Cpt. Saunders in the TOC.

Near the end ofFields of Fire, Lt. Hodges is ordered to secure a dangerous perimeteraround a disabled tank. During the ensuing firefight, he is shot in the face and killed:

Hodges grunted. Fucking tank. Snake shifted his gaze to the treadless tankthat had anchored them in such an indefensible position. It sat like a wounded

mastodon in the middle of the exposed paddy. The company was digging a

perimeter around it, to protect it.

Similarly, Tillmans platoon was put into danger by a disabled humvee. During the

friendly fire that resulted from splitting his platoon Lt. Uthlaut was hit in the face, hisRO shot in the leg, and Pat Tillman killed by criminally negligent fire by the lead vehicle

of the second section (Tillman was killed by rounds fired from only 35 meters away).. . .

InA Sense of Honor, Cpt. Lenahan and cadet Fogarty were kicked out of the Naval

Academy to protect their superiors from a hazing scandal:

Admiral, Ive got a man in trouble on a plebe-indoctrination charge. My manwont stand a chance.

Do you realize the implications if this gets out, Captain? You were there whenthese violations were going on. If we sided with Fogarty, we could lose the

whole plebe system. In fact, weve lost more than Fogarty. Im afraid youvejust become a casualty yourself. You get orders out of here before somebody

decides to investigate you.

Similarly, Lt. Uthlaut (First Captain, top of his West Point Class) was offered up as a low-

ranking scapegoat and kicked out of the Ranger Battalion for his failure to control his

platoon during the friendly fire incident. (Captain Saunders and Major Hodne laterdenied they ordered Lt. Uthlaut to split his platoon).

. . .

In The Emperors General, Army lawyer Frank Witherspoon railed against the injustice of

General MacArthurs war-crimes trial of Japanese General Yamashita:

what hes [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. Were Americans, Captain.

Were supposedly bringing an accused man into the American system of justice.

Hes convened a military commission! Its not acourt.

I reminded him that were supposed to be operating under traditional American

concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice. Do you realize what thistrialif you can call it a trialthis illegal, judgeless commission is going to look

like? Its going to be nothing but a public circus! ... why are we wasting our

credibility as the United States on this man?


18/42

Kevin Tillman, Pats younger brother, enlisted and fought with Pat in Iraq and

Afghanistan. After Pats death, Kevin refused all interviews and remained silent for 2 years. Just before the November 2006 elections, Kevin finally broke his silence with a

short essay After Pats Birthday (excerpted below):

It is Pats birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by

setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretlyholding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly

torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a fewbad apples. Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is

tolerated. Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country

safe.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has

become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in

the world. Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to itspeople and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue

and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People stillcan take action. It can start after Pats birthday.

. . .

Did they teach you how to lie yet? (Senator Smiths dad inA Country Such As This)

Last summer, on August 1, 2007, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held asecond hearing: The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department

Knew. The phrase, I dont recall, was uttered repeatedly by witnesses.

Mary wrote, General Brown, retired generals Meyers and Abizaid, and Rumsfeld havegreat difficulty remembering what they knew and when they knew it. Someone sitting

next to me whispers, They have collective amnesia. Rumsfeld was asked several times in

various ways when he learned of Pats death, but he couldnt recall.

Mary complained, we were not happy with the hearing at all. We had spent weeks

helping getting questions prepared and sending information. The Republicans on thecommittee were atbest indifferent Most of the Democrats disappointed us as well.

They were not prepared and they didnt think on their feet. We expected more from

Congress.

The White House claimed executive branch confidentiality when the House Committeeon Oversight and Reform requested information about their handling of the Tillman

fratricide. The White House refused to release e-mails and documents or to allow WhiteHouse staff to testify before the committee.

During the April 24, 2007 hearing, Mary said, Congress is supposed to take care of

their citizens. Pat died for this country, and he believed it was a great country that had asystem that worked. It is not perfect. No one has ever said that. But there is a system in

place to allow for it to work, and your job is to find out what happened to Pat.


19/42

InA Country Such As This, Senator Judd Smith argued: And no, the military isnt just

fine. The point is, it isnt corrupt. Its a system with human failures.

But when human failures systematically extend up every single link in the chain-of-

command (to include the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, Army Chief of Staff, and the Secretary

of Defense) up to and including the White House, how is this not a corrupt country? Every

single institution in this country has failed the Tillman family, including the Army

leadership, Congress, White House and the mainstream media.

Perhaps Senator Rowland, in Something to Die For, hit the nail on the head:

How lofty it must have been to have burnt with the purity of the Revolution! Before the

days of multi-million dollar election campaigns that brought politicians to their knees

before the monied temple of the contributors. Before the time of computerized politics thatcause them to await the wisdom of those oracles known as pollsters before they spoke. Or

maybe it had been trash from the get-go, myths to feed the public.

. . .

Your novels over the past thirty years have dealt with themes of honor, integrity, loyalty,and betrayal. I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family.

Perhaps you could arrange to meet with Mary Tillman during her May book tour? And

perhaps you would consider becoming an advocate in the Senate for the Tillman familysstruggle for the truth?

Sincerely,

**************

P.S. I was an early supporter of your long-shot 06 Senate campaign (from the fall of 05

through your election I made six contributions to your campaign). Most satisfying moneyIve ever given to a lost cause! Perhaps only the lost causes are worth fighting for?


20/42

AFTER PATS BIRTHDAY

Pat and Kevin Tillman --just before entering Iraq, March 2003

Marie Tillman, Mary Tillman, Rich Tillman, Kevin Tillman, Patrick Tillman, Sr.

-- Memorial Service, May 2004


21/42

After PatsBirthday

Posted on Oct 19, 2006

By Kevin Tillman

Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabiabefore their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003.

Editors note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and

they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on

April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful,

must-read document.

It is Pats birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets methinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He

spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were

at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could

be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave

us without a voice until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
http://www.truthdig.com/


22/42

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the

American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the

September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had

mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to

establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that

cant be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by

setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly

holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly

torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few

bad apples in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old

kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping

stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. Itsinteresting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing

from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or

an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle

50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion

becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and

illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and

honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send

soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.


23/42

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not

and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has

become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in

the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by

apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious

criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So dont be

shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the

nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that

somehow was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the countryvulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can

take action. It can start after Pats birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman, Kevin Tillman


24/42

BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK


25/42

BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK

Mary Tillman(Rodale Press, 2008)

(Note: quotes are from the Advance Copy Uncorrected Proof)

29 From the time I was very little, I was aware of my fathers pride in being a Marine.When I was three years old, in the days before car seats, I would stand between my

parents, feet digging into the soft leather of the big front seat, and sing the entire Marine

Corps Hymn at the top of my lungs. From the Halls of Mountezuma My father

would sing with me.

26 our fascination with military history came directly from my father, Richard M.

Spaulding, who had served as a Marine in the Korean War, and from my mothersbrother, John Conlin, who had served in WWII and the Korean War, and then the

National Guard.

29 My dad, like my father-in-law, didnt talk much about the specifics of his military

service or any horrors he might have seen. It wasnt until after he died that I learned thathis best friend had been blown up by a land mine just yards in front of him.

29 My brother Richard served in the Marines in the late seventies, and my brother-in-law

Jim served in the Army around the same time. Military service was prevalent in my

family and my husbands family and we were taught to respect it.

28 Military service was part of the life of my husbands family as well Their (her

sons) paternal grandfather, Hank Tillman, and two great uncles had served in the Navy,and all were stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed by the Japanese; all threesurvived.

28 As children, wed played military games while visiting my uncle John. I knew that

during WWII he had been the last soldier to parachute safely out of a crashing plane

26 Discussions about the military had been part of the boys childhood why people

fight for their country; why they should; when it is right to do so; the effect of war onpeople; how it crushes them tragically or enables them to do heroic things. At dinnertime

and at holiday gatherings, our conversations had often turned to the military and its place

in history and in our family. My sons were influenced by these stories and of ourfamilys military past.

30 We talked about how war best exemplifies the camaraderie of men, especially when

in battle, and puts people in positions to think about what they value, making them puttheir integrity on the line.

26 Thirty-five years ago, he (my father) and I had been at odds over Vietnam. Hed died

before seeing the outcome of that involvement. Would he have encouraged Pat andKevin? Or would he have feared, as I did now, that our family had glamorized the honor

of military service?


26/42

Steak Dinner On a Garbage Can Cover:

226 It went up to the 2-star level and the 2-star took it right to the 4-star level.Basically we, you know, came to USASOC when basically all, you know, everything

opened up and now all of a sudden, okay, its sort of like, Here is the steak dinner, butwere giving it to you on this, you know, garbage can cover. You know, You got it.

You work it

-- General Yellen (SOCOM) interview, General Jones 12/04 Investigation

268 Colonel Hans Bush, chief of public affairs at Fort Bragg claims he knew nothingabout how Pat really died until May 28, 2004, yet he received an e-mail on April 30,

2004, with the subject title Corporal Tillmans Silver Star Game Plan. Why do you

need a game plan for a Silver Star. On May 29, 2004, Robert Gaylord, chief of Army

public affairs, sent out emails congratulating everyone for damage control in Pats death.

A Sense of Honor:

154 Honor, integrity, dignity; those werent just adjectives in Pat Tillmans life; theywere his life. Pat Tillman was the embodiment of loyalty and commitment.

183 He was such a loyal person. He always wanted to do right by the people who

mattered to him.

235 Pat was honest and incorruptible; he would be offended and outraged about the

actions taken in the aftermath of his death. We owe it to Pat to find out who is behind

these deceptions and how high it goes.

McCain:

118 He (McCain) was the senator from Pats adopted state, and he was someone Pathad admired growing up. Pat had read several books about McCain and his experience in

the prisoner-of-war camp in Vietnam.

236 I have been going through Senator John McCains office to get answers to myfamilys mounting concerns. However, I sense Pats case has become something of a

political encumbrance to McCain. Gradually, I have turned to my congressman for help.

.


27/42


28/42

FROM KEVIN TILLMANS STATEMENT TO THE HEARING ON

MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIED(April 24, 2007 House Committee on Oversight and Reform)

Patrick Tillman, Sr. and Kevin Tillman

Two days ago marked the third anniversary of the death of my older brother, Pat Tillman,in Afghanistan. To our family and friends, it was a devastating loss. To the nation, it wasa moment of disorientation. To the military, it was a nightmare. But to others within the

government, it appears to have been an opportunity.

In the days leading up to Pats memorial service, media accounts based on informationprovided by the Army and the White House were wreathed in a patriotic glow and became

more dramatic in tone. A terrible tragedy that might have further undermined support for

the war in Iraq was transformed into an inspirational message that served instead to

support the nations foreign policy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To further exploit Patsdeath, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor.

This was a narrative that inspired countless Americans as intended. There was one smallproblem with the narrative, however. It was utter fiction.

The content of the multiple investigations revealed a series of contradictions that strongly

suggest deliberate and careful misrepresentations. We appeal to this committee becausewe believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly to

deceive the American public.


29/42

Revealing that Pats death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster

So the facts needed to be suppressed. An alternative narrative had to be

constructed. Crucial evidence was destroyed including Pats uniform, equipment andnotebook. The autopsy was not done according to regulation, and a field hospital report

was falsified. An initial investigation completed before testimony could be changed and which hit disturbingly close to the mark disappeared into thin air and was conveniently

replaced by another investigation with more palatable findings.

After the truth of Pats death was partially revealed, Pat was no longer of use as a salesasset and became strictly the Armys problem. With any luck, our family would sink

quietly into their grief, and the whole unsavory episode would be swept under the rug.

However, they miscalculated our familys reaction.

Through the amazing strength and perseverance of my mother our family has managed

to have multiple investigations conducted. However, while each investigation gatheredmore information, the mountain of evidence was never used to arrive at an honest or even

sensible conclusion.

The handling of the situation of the situation after the firefight was described as a

compilation of missteps, inaccuracies and errors in judgment which created the perceptionof concealment.

Writing a Silver Star award before a single eye witness account is taken is not a misstep.

Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. Discarding an(15-6) investigation that does not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment.These are deliberate acts of deceit. This is not the perception of concealment. This is

concealment.

Our family has relentlessly pursued the truth on this matter for three years. We have nowconcluded that our efforts are being actively thwarted by powers that are more interested in

protecting a narrative than getting at the truth or seeing that justice is served. That is whywe ask Congress to exercise its power to investigate the inconsistencies in Pats deathand the aftermath and all the other soldiers that were betrayed by this system.

The one bit of truth that did survive these manipulations is that Pat was and still is a great

man. He is the most wonderful older brother to ever exist. Pat wanted to leave a positive

legacy based on his actions, and he did that. Pats death at the hands of his comrades is a

terrible tragedy.

But the fact that the Army, and what appears to be others, attempted to hijack his virtue

and his legacy is simply horrific. The least this country can do for him in return is to

uncover who is responsible for his death, who lied and covered it up, and who instigatedthose lies and benefited from them. Then, ensure that justice is meted out to the culpable.Pat and these other soldiers volunteered to put their lives on the line for this country.

Anything less than the truth is a betrayal of those values that all soldiers who have fought

for this nation have sought to uphold.


30/42

FROM MARY TILLMANS TESTIMONY BEFORE THE

HEARING ON MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIED(April 24, 2007 House Committee on Oversight and Reform)

This family has great respect for the military. My dad served. My uncle served. I just

want to make that clear. The most comforting sight right after Pat died was the sight of

General Kensinger (commander SOCOM) which is very sad to me because I didnt knowwhat his role was in the cover-up. He was very kind. He was very impressive in his

uniform, and I felt very proud that he was there. In other words, we were made to feel

foolish, I think. I mean there is an element of betrayal. You feel rather foolish. Well,

how did I not pick up on this?

we have all been betrayed. It isnt just our family. Every time they betray a soldier,

they betray all of us. Pat had high ideals for the country. He did, and he thought it was

imperfect. He certainly didnt join for political reasons. He thought the country was in

need. It didnt matter who was in office. It didnt matter which party he voted for. That isbeside the point. The country was in need. We had officers that we trusted. We had high

regard for them. in your heart they (her sons) are your kids and you turn them over, andwe trusted. Certainly, we knew they could die or they could come back wounded Butwe never thought that they would use him the way they did.

And so, it is a betrayal, but it is not just a betrayal to us, and that is why we are here. This is a very big issue, and that is why we are in front of Congress, because Congress is

supposed to take care of their citizens.


31/42

Pat died for this country, and he believed it was a great country that had a system thatworked. It is not perfect. No one has ever said that. But there is a system in place to

allow for it to work, and your job is to find out what happened to Pat

we have been asked over and over again, well, what can we do for your family? Howcan we appease you? And it makes me sick. It is not about our family. Our family will

never be satisfied. We will never have Pat back. But what is so outrageous is this isnt

about Pat. This is about what they did to Pat and what they did to the Nation.

By making up these false stories you are diminishing their true heroism. It may not be

pretty. It may not be out of a John Wayne movie, but that is not what war is all about. It isugly. It is bloody. It is painful. And to write these glorious tales is really a disservice to

the Nation. And we shouldnt be allowed to have smokescreens thrown in our face.

. . .

in every way, they (CID) dodged. They are dodging us, and the IG condoned that eventhought they make the public believe they did such a grand job because they pointed the

finger at four generals and five other officers. That is a smokescreen. These officers arescapegoats.

Well, I contend that almost every soldier in Afghanistan at that point knew that Pat had

been killed by fratricide. So the idea that they wouldnt tell Abizaid what was going on ifhe didnt already know is ridiculous.

The fact that he (Pat Tillman) would be killed by friendly fire and no one would tell

Rumsfeld is ludicrous because he would have had a fit. I believe these generals would

be absolutely foolish not to tell him.

It is a bit disingenuous to think that the Administration did not know about what was goingon, something so politically sensitive.


32/42

NOTES FROM JAMES WEBBS

NOVELS:

I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of my

place in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none ofthose certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, so eager

to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.

-- James Webb, A Sense of Honor (1981)


33/42

8-23-06

SOMETHING TO DIE FORJames Webb (1991; paperback Avon Books 1992)

Note: Silver Star on the front cover; same medal awarded Pat Tillman

72 its going to cost us. And Id like to be able to tell my men that the pricetheyre going to pay is worth it. That its important to the country. Vital.

Something to die for.

387 We are awarding the Medal of Honor to the family of one of our brave

officers,.

395 You (President) killed my Dad. Why? Whyd you send him in? Why?

383 It was the look of an accuser who was not afraid to die. Theboy (Fogartys

son) probably didnt even know it yet, but he had become his fathersavenger.

401 He knows the administrations position on the matter was a cover-up. ..

Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didnt want the president to

look bad.

. . .

160 Holcomb liked to say that Lazaretti (his military aide) had a penchant for

playing politics with a small p. The general was unable to comprehend theduplicity and multiple agendas at the Cabinet level and in the Congress theissue behind the issue, the secret agenda that was being explored while the

visible problem was being confronted.

54 Ron Holcomb never told a lie, at least not in the way he could be caught in

it. But he was a master dissembler, capable of taking the truth and twisting itinto so many directions that it became fantasy at the same time it was

undeniable.

55 Holcomb almost never lied. He would merely package the facts, box them

up and wrap them with a bright, optimistic ribbon. And anyway, his version

could never be challenged.

340 Holcombs prepared speech had been given a spin by Hank Eichelberger.

As a consequence, the remarks were a mix of bald truth, diplomatic half-

truths, and what Holcomb had privately called necessary, unconfirmable

distortions.Nonetheless, they would become the governments officialpronouncement on the days action.


34/42

356 And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehand thattheir allegations were borne out by facts if not the truth.

. . .

3 But Bill Fogarty wasnt so sure anymore. Maybe he had done it too long.

Maybe it was the recent assignment in Washington, three years split betweenworking the Congress and serving as an action officer on the Joint Chiefs of

Staff. The assignment had unsettled him, opening up his eyes to the

sometimes bewildering series of second and third agendas advanced by

ambitious top-level executives whenever military force was debated.

7 And times were not good in Washington. Fogarty could sense it from little

hints on the news that he never would have noticed had he not spent three

years learning the doublespeak of government. The more bellicose membersof the administration seemed especially antsy of late, spoiling for a reason to

use military force.

31 Having spent three years watching the Wizards of Oz in Washington, he

stayed up nights wondering about the uses to which they would be put. His

father equated uncertainty with disloyalty. He had chided Fogarty forcriticizing those above him, especially Ronald Holcomb, the secretary of

defense. God save me from manipulative bureaucrats in polyester-wool

suits, button-down collars and power ties, and the kiss-ass officers who letthem get away with it. I dont need to see my men die because somebodycares more about helping the careers of their fellow madrigal singers over in

the White House or the State Department than they do about the troops the

compromise and misuse in places like Beirut and the Persian Gulf

50 Do you know what the troops call him (Secretary of Defense)? Chicken

Hawk. Because he didnt have the guts to serve when there was a war on,

and now every time theres a crisis he wants to send them in. . .

40 How lofty it must have been to have burnt with the purity of the Revolution!Before the days of multimillion-dollar election campaigns that brought

politicians to their knees before the monied temple of the contributors. Beforethe time of computerized politics that cause them to await the wisdom of those

oracles known as pollsters before they spoke. Or maybe it had been trash

from the get-go, myths to feed the public.


35/42

3-25-08

FIELDS OF FIRE(1978)

James Webb

2 Hodges grunted. Fucking tank. Snake shifted his gaze to the treadlesstank that had anchored them in such an indefensible position. It sat like a

wounded mastodon in the middle of the exposed paddy. The company wasdigging a perimeter around it, to protect it.

. . .

126 The rule I use is, would I think it made any sense if I got sent out on it? AndI wouldnt. So I dont like it. Now, if the Lieutenant believes the LP

shouldnt be out there, I suggest he go talk with the battalion staff.

127 LPs on the other side of this wire are crazy as hell. Hodges did not knowhow to force his point. Cant ask for more than having the Big Six consider

it, I reckon. Bullshit, said Snake, He (1LT Kersey) aint gonna talk tothe Colonel about this.

128 As long as hes looking good to the Man, he couldnt give a rats ass howmany people are bleeding. He had met a dozen Kerseys in the Marine

Corps already. They held all ranks, although to him they seemed to be mostlyMajors.

. . .

155 Dangling Bait. Drifting from village to village, Inviting an enemy attackmuch as a worm seeks to attract a fish: mindlessly, at someone elses urging,

for someone elses reason.

158 No patrol like this was finished until the bodies were found and tabulated. He didnt want to do it. feeling that he was offering his body as a sacrifice

in the name of not bagging a superiors order. Blind obedience. Here I am,

God of Dumb. Take me quick.

159 Just fuck em. Fuck everybody who doesnt come out here and do this. Letthem go and check that treeline. What do they know?

162 he pounded the dust some more, making a vow of rage. He would notallow their blood to have soaked into that unproductive dust merely for some

mad amorphous folly. waiting to be killed so they can have more bodies ontheir tote boards when the react pulls us from where we never should have had


36/42

to go. Those Bastards sit somewhere with air conditioners around them and

Coca-Cola inside them while we drink this goddamn wormy water.. . .

35 Sometimes I wish I have never told you those stories, Bobby. I just wantedyou to remember your daddy. Now, you be careful. Hodges never had a lickof luck at this. Ghosts and glory. It stunned him to hear her say it.

25 These people have no sense of country. They dont look beyond themselves. Weve lost a sense of responsibility, at least on the individual level. Andthe common good is defined by who wins at the polls, and the policies they

make. Like it or lump it.

35 He was not anxious to save Vietnam from itself and he did not relish facingNorth Vietnamese guns for a year, but he reasoned that, after all, a man cannot

choose his countrys enemy. And besides, Vietnam was something to be

done with, a duty. Not for Vietnam. For honor

26 Mans noblest moment is that one spent on the fields of fire. I believe that.My war is not as simple as yours was, Father. People seem to question their

obligation to serve on other than their own terms. I fight because we havealways fought. It doesnt matter who.

31 It was a continuum, a litany. Pride. Courage. Fear. An inherited right toviolence. And the pride accumulated, even as the reasons themselves grew

more amorphous.

32 It was the fight that mattered, not the cause. But in any event, he wasserving, offering himself on the altar of his own culture. A litany, an

inheritance of coursing, unreasoned pride. It became a religion to him.He believed in God but most of all he believed in his father and the other

Ghosts.


37/42

8-26-07

A COUNTRY SUCH AS THISJames Webb, (1983)

554 People. And pride. And proud people are loyal. Think of this, OK? If nothing

ever works out all the way, and if all things change, whats left? Your family and

your friends and your values, thats whats left. And your duty to them. So they

arent the most important things in life Theyre the only important things inlife.

538 loyalty to people and culture was the key to life. And that the rest of it mightchange a million times, be called wrong or right or anything else, but that you

must never violate your loyalty if you wished to survive the judgment of the ages.

330 He was not a big man but he had a sort of power in him; not the affirmativedirectness of the achiever who must win, but the simple tenacity of a man who has

never won and thus does not really even think about winning, but rather sees life

as a daily refusal to be beaten.. . .

491 At the corner of south Capital Street and Independence Avenue he jogged

across the avenue, passing through a curtain of shrubbery into a small park. He found his favorite tree and removed his coat, folding it carefully inside out,

and sat down, leaning against the tree trunk as though it was a lounging chair.

The park was his frequent daytime hideout. When it got to be too much, he

simply picked up a carry-out lunch and escaped into the plain view of the park.

His public cloister allowed contemplation Congress was a dog and ponyshow. He was doing vital things, at least part of the time, but it would end

someday, just like everything else always had and always would. And thegnarled base of his favorite old tree was itself a throne, from which he could peer

out on the Capital, a few hundred feet away, and the House Office Buildings just

across the street. The Capital building was a wonderfully dramaticbackground.

. . .

503 And no, the military isnt just fine. The point is, it isnt corrupt. Its a systemwith human failures.

446 Did they teach you how to lie yet?

3 You could foul the world in many ways, he thought, and maybe you were even

supposed to do it. But failing to honor your word was different. You defiled

yourself, not the world, and you did so indelibly.


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7 The flotsam that had always kept him from drowning had always been values. It was his one great satisfaction, that he had honored them. Not always, but

whenever he could.

348 the only really important measure of success is here, in your personal life. Life happens to you soon enough without planning it and getting disappointed,

either because you planned too low or too high.

. . .

388 They were only soldiers. They had never owned or determined the reasons for awar, and they had not asked for this one. They had merely yielded to their honor

and tradition and agreed to fight it. And they were not wrong, not wrong.

501 Little hooks designed to shake the foundations of belief in traditional views of the

country as a wholesome and well-intentioned nation.

272 Did I ever tell you about Johnny Cash? Johnny Cash is from over in Arkansas.

His daddy was a dirt farmer, just like my daddy.


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8-23-06

A SENSE OF HONORJames Webb

(1981; Bluejacket Press 1995)

233 He is sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He

is, in fact, myself in a matchbox.

104 Poetry will sustain your emotions. Its the lightning rod of the soul. Dontbe afraid to be sensitive, just because youre a hard-ass.

133 Nay, whatever comes/One hour was sunlit and the most high gods/May notmake boast of any better thing/Than to have watched that hour as it passed.

Theres a poem for you. Ezra Pound

. . .

74 I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of myplace in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none of

those certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, so eager

to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.

134 I guess thats what the world does to you. It makes you realize that honor andloyalty are traps with no reward.

. . .

135 At Navy they say only losers turn into philosophers.27 Ted Lenahans face carried the perpetual look of having just lost a very close

fight. He had defiant, disappointed blue eyes in weary sockets, the soft skinunderneath them too dry and wrinkled for a man of twenty-nine.

11 Gone soft,sir? I havent gone soft. Ive always been soft. Except whenIve had to be hard.

. . .

12 Fogarty chanted as he jogged, in a mindless repetitive whisper. I can runall night I can run all day I can run all night


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11-12-06

THE EMPERORS GENERAL

James Webb (Hardcover, 1999)

257 what hes [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. Were Americans, Captain.

Were supposedly bringing an accused man into the American system of justice. This is

a capital case. Yamashitas life is at stake. I know a lot of people died in this war, and

life was cheap, but the war is over. Tell MacArthur if he wants to kill Yamashita, why

hide behind us? [Defense lawyer Witherspoon] Why doesnt he just come down andshoot him in the fucking head?

258 MacArthurs not a lawyer, and this isnt a court! Hes convened a military

commission! Its not acourt. Its his own little creation. A commission composed offive generals, less than a month after this war is over. And none of them are lawyers,

either! I dont even have a military judge to object to on points of law, like I would in aregular court-martial, for Christs sake! Do you think they want to ruin their careersby pissing off the supreme commander? Hes waived traditional rules of evidence. He didnt appoint the defense counsel until three days ago, and they expect us to be

ready to go to trial within a few weeks!

302 I [Witherspoon] reminded him that were supposed to be operating under

traditional American concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice. And do you

know what he told me? Were in a hurry.

259 Yamashita had already pulled his soldiers out of Manila. He had declared it an

open city and declined to fight there. Hed issued written orders to his soldiers againstany form of atrocity. Written orders! When all this [rape of Manila] happened, he was

hauling his ass through the mountains of central Luzon, fighting off twelve American

divisions.

260 The prosecution has been talking to Yamashita for nearly a month, without a

defense lawyer present. The prosecution has every single fact in this case. And even

they dont dispute what I just said! They know as well as I do that its not going tomatter! Do you realize what this trialif you can call it a trialthis illegal,judgeless

commission is going to look like? Its going to be nothing but a public circus! . What

are we doing here, Captain? Of all the bloodsucking criminals who did grotesque things

in the war, why are we wasting our credibility as the United States on this man? And inGods name, what is the hurry?

. . .

124 If he [General Yamashita] returned alive on Japanese soil, his fiercely simple self-

assurance could provide a visible counterpoint and even a rallying point for those who

wished to oppose the supreme commanders powers.

190 he [Yamashita] has always been too independent he took issue with our warplanners. [he opposed Pearl Harbor] He predicted that we would lose. He could


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be a problem again if he returns to Japan and speaks about how the war was fought.

266 Sam Genius [lawyer prosecuting Japanese war crimes] was not wrongshifting

attention from the rape of Naking, with Sam Geniuss hit list of royal collaborators, wasimportant, both to MacArthur and to the emperor. But the possible impact of Tomoyuki

Yamashitas return to Japan, where he might state his case before the same internationaltribunal that General Tojo and the others would face in a few months, was more than the

supreme commander or the emperor either one could bear. Dead or alive, the stoic,

patient Yamashita would survive that forum as a national hero, one whose vision, dignity,and exploits might overshadow every other figure in the Pacific war.

Every other figure. The imperial government might never live down Yamashitas clear-

eyed predictions that the course they had chosen for the war was doomed from the

beginning. And more important, Douglas MacArthur could never destroy Yamashitas

reputation as a principled and brilliant battlefield general. So instead, Yamashita wouldbe kept in the Philippines, to be tried before a panel of nonlawyer military careerists,

whose very purpose would be to destroy his honor.

. . .

309 Tomoyuki Yamashita had been hauled into the room to sit hour after hour, dayafter day, as the cameras captured the undeniable horror of Manilas rape. And then he

would be sent out to die. At the end of the first day, even the American jounalists weregrumbling about the blatantly contrived and totally predictable results.

363 The trial was finally over. It was December 6. MacArthur, with hispenchant for anniversaries, had arranged for the verdict to be read to the world during a

live, fifteen-minute radio address on Pearl Harbor Day. That night the twelve American,

British, and Austrailian journalists who had covered every moment of the trial were

polled by the International News Service in a secret ballot. all twelve votedYamashita innocent.

364 .[from the verdict] you failed to provide effective control of your troops as

was required by the circumstances [LT Uthalat parallel]

. . .

365 [Frank Witherspoon] filed a petition to the Supreme Court. . GeneralMacArthur has taken the law into his own hands, is disregarding the laws of the United

States and the Constitution, and has no authority from Congress or the president.

[MacArthur] claiming that the Supreme Court did not have any jurisdiction in this

purely military affair.

375 On January 7, 1946, the Supreme Court had heard Frank Witherspoons appeal,and on February 4 it rendered its opinion. Despite a scathing dissent the Court

declined to intervene in the case. not concerned with the guilt or innocence ... sincethe war would not be officially over until formal peace documents were signed,

MacArthur still retained the power to convene a military commission so long as a state

of war exists. [surrendered 9-02-45!]

375 From the Supreme Court dissenting opinion: No military necessity or other

emergency demanded suspension of the safeguards of due process. Yet GeneralYamashita was rushed to trial under an improper charge, given insufficient time to

prepare an adequate defense, deprived of the benefits of the most elementary rules of


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evidence, and summarily sentenced to be hanged. In all this needless and unseemly hastethere was no serious attempt to prove that he committed a recognized violation of the

rules of war. He was not charged with personally participating in the acts of atrocity, or

with ordering or condoning their commission. Not even knowledge of these crimes wasattributed to him. This indictment in effect permitted the military commission to make

the crime whatever it willed. Such a procedure is unworthy of our people

. . .

380 Respect. For one another. For oneself. Is there anything more important toleave behind? I dont think so. Becauserespect is more important than life. That is

why MacArthur did this. To destroy my respect. Is it not? [Yamashita]

383 in the end I lacked what Koichi Kido called majime, the wisdom and courage

to eliminate any distinctions between my actions and my inner thoughts. One was not

born with majime. He gained it through years of thought and struggle.

310 The spoils of a just war, a war fought on behalf of tolerance and human decency,

did not give anyone the right to murder a great man for reasons of political expedienceand personal jealousy.

106 I found myself awash with a sense of injustice that I could not define. Or perhaps

it was merely that I was young. I had never seen with such clarity that courage coulddestroy one man while flight could make another man king.

. . .

309 Who had I become? . A cute-mouthed monkey boy, neither serene nor

engaged, who had simply become accepting. Sam Genius and Frank Witherspoon

were standing for something. And I had come to stand for nothing.

399 I knew it was fruitless at this point but still I felt a call for justice, an anger thatlife does not always reward the right intentions, that the cycles of days and years andseasons lull us into thinking that in all things there will be second chances, and even

thirds, when in some things we have only one. And sometimes we never know we had

that single chance until it disappears.

400 Waray, waray. You remember, even after all these years! Yes, that is the way of

our people. To the last drop of blood. To the last breath of air. To the last beating of the

heart. That is how we fight. That is how we pray. That is how we love.

A Sense of Honor -- Letters to Mary Tillman & Senator Webb (April 3, 2008)

Documents

Transcript of A Sense of Honor -- Letters to Mary Tillman & Senator Webb (April 3, 2008)