WASHINGTON - Pat Tillman's family yesterday ripped the Army's latest investigation of the pro football star's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan as a "sham" meant to protect higherups.
"It's so humiliating and disrespectful," said Mary Tillman, mother of the Arizona Cardinals defensive back who joined the Army and became a Ranger after 9/11.
"It's one more example of the Army investigating itself," she said. "It was all done to glorify this war. It's a sham. Pat deserves the truth."
Army Secretary Pete Geren is expected to recommend next week against criminal action but urge that four generals and three other officers be reprimanded for "critical errors" that misled the family and the nation into thinking Tillman was killed in combat in April 2004.
The officers also allowed the approval of Tillman's Silver Star award, which said he died in a charge against the enemy when he was actually killed by machine-gun fire from his own platoon.
Geren is also expected to recommend that retired Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, former head of Army special operations, be demoted one rank to major general. The action would cut Kensinger's monthly pension from about $8,800 to $7,900.
Five weeks after Tillman's death, when Kensinger already knew about the friendly-fire reports, he joined the family at a nationally televised memorial service but did not dispute the Silver Star citation.
Mary Tillman said Kensinger "was just the fall guy" for others in the chain of command. She suggested that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also knew that her son had fallen to friendly fire but kept the facts hidden so his death could be used as propaganda for the war.
Brig. Gen. Gina Farrisee, who oversaw the Silver Star award, is expected to receive a letter of censure.
Mary Tillman said Farrisee had seen coroner's reports after her son's death and "knew immediately something was suspicious."
"She knew damn well something was wrong" but let the award process go ahead, the mother said.
