Timr
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Here's what happened (according to one news source):
April 30, 2004
Hero, Pt. 2
Pat Tillman was awarded the Silver Star today. In announcing the award, the Army said Tillman was shot and killed while fighting, "without regard for his personal safety." The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry on the battlefield and is one of the most distinguished military honors.
Yesterday, the Army also announced Tillman had been posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal.
This isn't all just for show. The Army isn't hoping to score some public relations points here. As more information comes out, we learn just what kind of a hero Pat Tillman really was.
In announcing the award, the Army Special Operations Command provided, for the first time, a description of what led to Tillman's death:
Tillman's platoon was split into two sections called a ground assault convoy. Tillman was the leader of the lead group.
The trailing group began receiving mortar and small arms fire and became trapped in the "kill zone" because of the cavernous terrain.
Although Tillman's group was already safely out of the area, he led his group back to save his fellow soldiers. His soldiers were ordered out of their vehicles and up a hill toward the enemy.
As Tillman crested the hill, he returned fire on the enemy with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a light-weight machine gun. From the dominating high ground, Tillman ordered his soldiers to take the fight to the enemy.
As a result of his leadership and his team's efforts, the trailing group made it out of the ambush without a single casualty. Tillman, however, did not make it.
One other soldier, a lieutenant in Tillman's unit, was wounded. When Gen. John Abizaid, commander of all forces in Afghanistan, asked that lieutenant about Tillman, he said, "Pat Tillman was a great Ranger and a great soldier. And what more can I say about him?"
What more can you say?
April 30, 2004
Hero, Pt. 2
Pat Tillman was awarded the Silver Star today. In announcing the award, the Army said Tillman was shot and killed while fighting, "without regard for his personal safety." The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry on the battlefield and is one of the most distinguished military honors.
Yesterday, the Army also announced Tillman had been posthumously promoted from specialist to corporal.
This isn't all just for show. The Army isn't hoping to score some public relations points here. As more information comes out, we learn just what kind of a hero Pat Tillman really was.
In announcing the award, the Army Special Operations Command provided, for the first time, a description of what led to Tillman's death:
Tillman's platoon was split into two sections called a ground assault convoy. Tillman was the leader of the lead group.
The trailing group began receiving mortar and small arms fire and became trapped in the "kill zone" because of the cavernous terrain.
Although Tillman's group was already safely out of the area, he led his group back to save his fellow soldiers. His soldiers were ordered out of their vehicles and up a hill toward the enemy.
As Tillman crested the hill, he returned fire on the enemy with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a light-weight machine gun. From the dominating high ground, Tillman ordered his soldiers to take the fight to the enemy.
As a result of his leadership and his team's efforts, the trailing group made it out of the ambush without a single casualty. Tillman, however, did not make it.
One other soldier, a lieutenant in Tillman's unit, was wounded. When Gen. John Abizaid, commander of all forces in Afghanistan, asked that lieutenant about Tillman, he said, "Pat Tillman was a great Ranger and a great soldier. And what more can I say about him?"
What more can you say?
