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One compelling statistic from the film: 1/6 (16%) combat deaths are a result of friendly fire. And while the Army claims the rate has dropped significantly since the Persian Gulf War (due to technological advances) from 10-14 % to .78 per cent, most experts agree this number is low. It also stands to reason that these cases inordinately affect African-Americans since they are disproportionately represented in the military. According to US Census Bureau the percentage of African-Americans in the US is 12.9% as compared to 17.3% serving in the military (according to the US Department of Defense).
So if a family suspects a cover-up, who has the power to challenge the government? It seems that people of privilege at least fair better.
“There is no doubt that Tillman’s were able to do what other families in the same position couldn’t,” explains Amir Bar-Lev, the film’s director. “Because of Pat’s celebrity, the Tillman family had access to people—and power—that most wouldn’t, like John McCain,” (who is seen in the film at Pat’s funeral). Bar-Lev also insists that Dannie Tillman is well aware of this. “She’s the first to say that this film isn’t about Pat, it’s about our country.” RELATED: Biden Honors Troops At Arlington Cemetery
In 2008, Salon.com published a story about the deaths of two soldiers, 31-year-old African-American Pfc Albert Markee Nelson and 21-year-old Pfc Roger Suarez-Gonzalez who died (together) in Ramadi, Iraq. Both families were told that their son’s died from an enemy mortar attack, but when a 52-minute video surfaced (one of the soldiers had a helmet camera turned on during the raid), it showed the deaths were in fact friendly-fire.
Interestingly, few media—mainstream or alternative—outlets picked up on the story (which in some cases is the only way families can get attention) and the parents of the two soldiers, Jean Nelson-Feggins and Roger Suarez, say they still haven’t gotten satisfying answers from the military.
“Even after the video, the army insists that my son was killed by enemy fire,” explains Roger Suarez Sr. from Lady Tamales, from the restaurant he owns Carson City, Nevada.
In a story that ran in the Associated Press in 2008, Jean Nelson Feggins insists she was not alerted to the video by the military but that she learned of it from Salon.com. What’s more, she was suspicious of a cover up from the start.
There are no winners in this game. At the end of The Tillman Story, Dannie Tillman and her family aren’t any clearer on Pat’s death than they were in 2004. The US Department of Defense concluded it was friendly fire, but to this day, no one has taken responsibility for the cover-up. What is clear is that having the leverage to challenge the system can go at least part way in bringing closure and moving forward.
