Pat Tillman Poem by Del a.k.a. Abe Jones

The two made quite a sacrifice
By joining the Army’s elite
The motto, “Rangers Lead The Way”
Now, for one is bittersweet.

They both walked from professions
And put it All on the front line
To do their Duty to their Country
For, Freedoms of yours and mine.

He lost his Brother to the enemy
In an ambush firefight
The Ranger Creed is what He lived by
And He believed in what was right.

He said, his Grandpa was at “Pearl”
But, felt He hadn’t done His part
So, after Nine Eleven
He knew what to do, down in His heart.

He made the Sacrifice, Supreme
And He surely gave His all
And in that Army, up in Heaven
You can bet He’s standing Proud and Tall.

24 April 2004

(update)

We were told he was a Hero
He died, fighting the enemy
And although he WAS a hero
Lies were told, to his family.

A victim of friendly fire
Which can occur in every war
But the cover-up by the Army
Goes to the President's door.

Though, he might not have known
He's the Commander in Chief
And the buck stops with him
The cause of this wartime grief.

Someone must be accountable
And everyone must tell the truth
About the death of this great Soldier
Who was cut down in his youth.

This is just one more example
Of our Government's arrogance
Which spins stories to suit it
With honor and truth's avoidance.

They tell us what we want to hear
If that won't work, they'll tell a lie
And they're so good when they do it
They can look you straight in the eye.


Tillman,27, was a member of the 2nd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash. The battalion was involved in Operation Mountain Storm in southeastern Afghanistan, part of the U.S. campaign against fighters of the al-Qaida terror network and the former Taliban government along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, military officials told NBC News.
U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Matthew Beevers said Saturday that Tillman was killed Thursday night in a firefight at about 7 p.m. on a road near Sperah, about 25 miles southwest of a U.S. base at Khost.
After coming under fire, Tillman’s patrol got out of their vehicles and gave chase, moving toward the spot of the ambush. Beevers said the fighting was “sustained” and lasted 15-20 minutes.

Pat Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract in 2002 to join the Army in the wake of the Sept.11,2001, attacks.

Beevers said Tillman was killed by enemy fire, but he had no information about what type of weapons were involved in the assault, or whether he died instantly.