Mary Tillman denounces cover-up of son's "friendly fire" killing in Afghanistan

Tillman read a section of her book and discussed the death of her son and its aftermath. Pat Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004. Though officials within the military and Bush administration were soon aware that the death came at the hands of US soldiers, this fact was covered up for weeks. Pat Tillmans death was exploited in an attempt to bolster support for US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This deception was not just a deception of our family; it was a public deception used to rally the public behind the war, Tillman said. Pat would have been horrified that his life and death had been used in this way. Mrs. Tillman said she had been disappointed by the reaction from both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

At the event, Tillman spoke about the history of her family, including her relationship with her own father, who was in the military. She discussed her opposition to the war in Vietnam and the first war against Iraq, in 1991.

Since the death of her son, Tillman has become vocal in demanding an investigation into those responsible for attempting to cover up the nature of his death. She has come to express a politicization among many of the families that have been directly impacted by the war, and she sees herself as a representative of those families that do not have as much public exposure.

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