Pat Tillman, Through the Eyes of Those Who Served With Him

Tomorrow marks the tenth anniversary of Pat Tillman's death. Twelve days ago I wrote about Tillman as one of the victims of Donald Rumsfeld's propaganda barrage during the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars. Originally Tillman was held up as a hero who died fighting the Taliban. Five weeks later the Defense Department revealed that he had been killed by friendly fire -- bullets fired by American soldiers had taken his life.

Last Friday ESPN posted a piece in which two rangers, Steven Elliot and Bryan O'Neal, from Tillman's group -- one who had been on the canyon ridge with Tillman and one who had been shooting at Tillman from below recounted the effects of his death on their lives. The ESPN piece is both harrowing and heartbreaking. It can and should be seen here.