Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman by Mary Tillman, Narda Zacchino (With), Mary Tillman (Read by)

Great Bookby Anonymous

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November 22, 2009: I am an NFL fan, when I heard about Pat Tillman's enlistment into the military and then his death I was grateful that his family shared Pat's story with the rest of the world. I immediately picked up a copy and read the book page by page, this is a page turner. A very account of what the Tillman family went through during the days after Pat's death. Touching story.

Good story, bad politicsby tanker62

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October 04, 2009: Mary Tillman loved her son; this is evident through out this book.

Pat Tillman was remarkable for what he did. That is also very evident. Unfortunately, Mary Tillman subtracts from Pat's memory and legacy by airing her sour grapes. She was not happy with Pat's decision to join the military; She states that outright in these pages. Mary Tillman was not happy with the Bush administration. That is also evident. But rather than being a "tribute" to Pat, she sullies his memory. She actually commits the same "sin" that she accuses the Army and the government of: contradiction. She insinuates that there is a conspiracy theory to have her son killed in order to help the nation "rally 'round the flag. Then she presents a wonderful case that there was no conspiracy theory; There were a bunch of scared soldiers on the ground, with visions of glory or whatever in their minds, shooting so that they can be part of the fight. Unfortunately, Pat was in the line of fire. She lays out faulty logic to back up her insinuations, Why did Pat's body armor have multiple bullet strikes, why did they perform CPR on him, knowing he was dead, why was there no control on the ground, why did the soldiers not positively ID their targets before pulling the trigger, why did they burn her son's uniform at the hospital? She barely touches, if at all addresses the logical explanations for these questions. She leaves the questions out there, with the insinuation that her son was targeted by his own government, in order to be able to put a PR spin that Pat Tillman died a hero's death, fighting for his country as a US Army Ranger, despite having a bright future in football, he sacrificed it all for his country.

How about this story, the Army is chagrined that Tillman is accidentally killed by his own friends during a bad situation and to spare the family and the nation heart ache and to save the Army the embarrassment, they embellish the story somewhat.

The bottom line is that the truth lies somewhere between Mary Tillman's venom and the Army's spin. Pat Tillman, a great American in my eyes, walks away from a promising professional football career and joins the Army to fight for his country. While fighting, his unit gets into a bad situation, he behaves bravely and does what he's been trained to do, return controlled fire on an enemy force, while leading his soldiers to do the same. That's a lot more than some soldiers ever actually do.

If you eliminate the conspiracy theory, this is a powerful and moving book. When Tillman was first killed, I was upset that the Army made such a big deal about his death and some Soldiers barely get recognized when they die. ALL Soldiers have promising lives. This is one of those lives that tragically ended too soon.

Mary is a mother who is hurting who has been spun by the best spin doctors, the media. She does it, trying to explain why her son died, as any mother would. But, in the end, when she finished writing the book, sadly, Pat was still just as dead. When I finished reading the book, same result. When the 100 millionth reader finishes reading the book - it'll be the same result. I feel sorry for Mary, having to bury her son. I feel pride and great respect for Pat. No matter whether it was friendly fire that struck Pat or not, Pat still died a heroes death. We should take the lessons from the mistakes to make sure that they never happen...