A SENSE OF HONOR

Pat Tillman & Senator James Webb

April 3, 2008
Guy Montag, feralfirefighter.blogspot.com

“Here is the steak dinner, but we‟re giving it to you on this … garbage can cover. You know,
you got it, you work it.”
-- General Yellen, Deputy Commander SOCOM

“I found myself awash with a sense of injustice that I could not define. Or perhaps it was merely
that I was young. I had never seen with such clarity that … courage could destroy one man
while flight could make another man king.”
-- James Webb, “The Emperor‟s General”
 A SENSE OF HONOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PDF Page #:

LETTER TO MARY TILLMAN (FEBRUARY 4th 2008) 3

LETTER TO SENATOR JAMES WEBB (APRIL 3rd 2008) 12

...

AFTER PAT’S BIRTHDAY (Kevin Tillman, 2006) 19

BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK (Mary Tillman, 2008) 23

HEARING ON MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIELD: 26

Excerpts from transcript of Kevin Tillman‟s Testimony, 4-24-07 27

Excerpts from transcript of Mary Tillman‟s Testimony, 4-24-07 29

NOTES FROM THE NOVELS OF JAMES WEBB: 31

* Something to Die For James Webb, 1992 32

Fields of Fire James Webb, 1978 34

A Country Such as This James Webb, 1983 36

A Sense of Honor James Webb, 1981 38

The Emperor‟s General James Webb, 1999

 February 4, 2008

Mary Tillman,

Stan Goff mentioned that you and Narda Zacchino are working together on a
memoir about Pat Tillman. I am writing to suggest you ask Senator James
Webb to review your book.

I‟ve been reading James Webb‟s novels for almost 30 years, starting before I
enlisted with an Airborne LRRP unit [SSGT 1983 -1991, Co. “F” (Ranger)
425th Infantry, MI Army National Guard]. Webb is a self-proclaimed
“redneck” and can be blunt and outspoken. I haven‟t always agreed with his
opinions, especially those concerning the wisdom of the Vietnam War. But
it‟s clear to me that he is a man of integrity and honesty. And for 30 years
he has written novels with themes of betrayal, honor, integrity, and justice.

Webb's novel, "Something to Die For" (1990), is reminiscent of the cover-up

of Pat Tillman's death. The novel centers on a Marine named Fogarty who
fights a mistaken battle in Africa because of political games by the Secretary
of Defense. The nature of his death is covered up. He's posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor by the President during a nationally televised
state funeral service [see Appendix “B”]:

Ron Holcomb [Secretary of Defense] never told a lie, at least not in the way
he could be caught in it. But he was a master dissembler, …Holcomb‟s
prepared speech had been given a “spin” …As a consequence, the remarks
were a mix of bald truth, diplomatic half-truths, and what Holcomb had
privately called “necessary, unconfirmable distortions.” Nonetheless, they
would become the government‟s official pronouncement on the day‟s action.
… And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehand
that their allegations were borne out by facts if not the truth. …

“He [Secretary of Defense] knows the administration‟s position on the matter

was a cover-up. Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didn‟t
want the president to look bad.”

“God save me from manipulative bureaucrats in polyester-wool suits, button

down collars and power ties, and the kiss ass officers who let them get away
with it. I don‟t need to see my men die because somebody cares more about
helping the careers of their fellow madrigal singers over in the White House.
or the State Department than they do about the troops they compromise and
misuse in places like Beirut and the Persian Gulf.”
James Webb‟s novel “A Sense of Honor” (1981) is a prequel to “Something to
Die For.” The novel takes place during one week at the Naval Academy in
1968. Captain Lenahan is a Marine officer stationed at the Academy. He
and Cadet Fogarty are scape-goated by the brass to cover their ass [see
Appendix “C”]:

“I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of my
place in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none of
those certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, so
eager to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.”

“Poetry will sustain your emotions. It‟s the lightning rod of the soul. Don‟t
be afraid to be sensitive, just because you‟re a hard-ass.” … „Nay, whatever
comes/One hour was sunlit and the most high gods/May not make boast of
any better thing/Than to have watched that hour as it passed.‟ There‟s a
poem for you. Ezra Pound” … He [Lenahan‟s son] is sensitive and fierce, a
poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He is, in fact, myself in a
matchbox.

“The Emperor‟s General” (1999) is a historical novel that deals with General
MacArthur‟s “military commission” war-crimes trial of Japanese General
Yamashita. Webb‟s sympathies lie with the honorable Yamashita who
displayed “majime, the wisdom and courage to eliminate any distinctions
between his actions and inner thoughts” [see Appendix “D”]:

“… what he‟s [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. We‟re Americans,

Captain. We‟re supposedly bringing an accused man into the American
system of justice. ... MacArthur‟s not a lawyer, and this isn‟t a court! He‟s
convened a military commission! It‟s not – a – court. It‟s his own little
creation. … I reminded him that we‟re supposed to be operating under
traditional American concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice.
And do you know what he told me? “We‟re in a hurry.” … Do you realize
what this trial – if you can call it a trial – this illegal, judgeless commission
is going to look like? It‟s going to be nothing but a public circus!”

“The “trial” was finally over. … It was December 6. MacArthur, with his
penchant for anniversaries, had arranged for the verdict to be read to the
world during a live, fifteen-minute radio address on Pearl Harbor Day. …
[Frank Witherspoon] filed a petition to the Supreme Court. …. “General
MacArthur has taken the law into his own hands, is disregarding the laws of
the United States and the Constitution, and has no authority from Congress
or the president.” …

“Despite a scathing dissent … the Court declined to intervene in the case. ...
since the war would not be officially over until formal peace documents were
signed, MacArthur still retained the power to convene a military commission
“so long as a state of war exists.”… “This indictment in effect permitted the
military commission to make the crime whatever it willed. Such a procedure
is unworthy of our people.”

Webb‟s most recent book is “Born Fighting” (2004) a history of the Scots-
Irish in America. The book contains auto-biographical material and hints of
Webb‟s independent, populist political views. I find it poignant that Webb‟s
own father opposed him risking his life in Vietnam as a Marine. Today,
perhaps Webb feels the same about his own son in Iraq? [see Appendix “E”]:

“My own father [career Air Force colonel], who had defined for me the notion
of loyalty, became disgusted with McNamara‟s “whiz kids” after being
assigned to the Pentagon in 1965. … he urged me more than once to go into
the navy, find myself a nice ship where I could, as he so often put it, “sit in
the wardroom and eat ice cream,” and not risk myself as a Marine … my
father put in his papers to retire from the air force [after Webb‟s graduation
from Annapolis], telling me he “couldn‟t bear to watch it” while still wearing
a military uniform … this strategically botched war [Vietnam] was not
worth my life.”
...

James Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968 and graduated 1 st
in his Officer Basic course. He fought in Vietnam, was highly decorated and
left the Marines with a bad knee. He received his law degree from
Georgetown University in 1975. Webb has worked as a lawyer, journalist,
and novelist over past 20 years. During the 1980‟s, he was an Assistant
Secretary of Defense for three years and was the Secretary of the Navy (he
resigned after serving a year).

If you‟d like to learn more about James Webb, I would suggest you go to his
websites: jameswebb.com and webb.senate.gov. I would also highly
recommend reading Robert Timberg‟s book “The Nightingale‟s Song” (1995).
This book defies genres. It is an absorbing biography/history/political
analysis of the Reagan Iran Contra era centered on five Annapolis
graduates: John McCain, John Pointexter, Bud McFarlane, Oliver North,
and James Webb.

Webb spoke out against the current Iraq War before it started (and against
the first Gulf War as well). His only son left college to enlist in the Marines
is now an infantryman in the Anbar province of Iraq. Webb has fiercely
protected his son‟s privacy and refused all public comment, even to President
Bush [see Appendix “A”]:
Last year, Webb narrowly won George Allen‟s Virginia Senate seat and
became the Senate‟s 51st Democratic member (I was happy to see that my
paltry campaign contributions helped him to edge out Allen by 4,000 votes!)
Already, the Washington establishment has targeted Webb as a troublesome
maverick. As they well should! (But, I don‟t think the Democrats will be
any happier with him). Webb has always been outspoken and his own man..

If the “latest and greatest investigation” by the Defense Department

Inspector General does not satisfy the Tillman family, I believe James Webb
might be interested in assisting the Tillman family in their battle for the
truth. As a Senator on the Armed Services committee, Webb could possibly
push for Senate hearings (Perhaps they might turn out better than last
years‟ House hearings?).

Feel free to contact me for more information or clarifications. I hope this

letter has provided some useful information for the Tillman family.

Sincerely,

***********

Firefighter, ****************** 1991 – present

SSGT, Co F (Ranger) 425th Infantry, MI Army National Guard 1983 – 1991

P.S.

In 2004, Webb gave a lecture entitled “Perspectives of an American Ronin”

“A ronin is a Samurai warrior who has no master except the truth”. That‟s
how I‟ve felt since leaving the Army in 1991 in disgust over the 1st Gulf War.
Perhaps Kevin Tillman feels the same way [see Appendix “F”]
(Unfortunately, I haven‟t yet been able to get my hands on a transcript of
that lecture yet).
**********************************************************************

APPENDIX “A”: Webb Vs. Bush

***********************************************************************

Bush, Webb exchange chilly words about war

Bob Lewis
Associated Press
November 30, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. – Democratic Sen.-elect Jim Webb avoided the receiving line during a recent White
House reception for new members of Congress and had a chilly exchange with President Bush over the
Iraq war and his Marine son.

"How's your boy?" Webb, in an interview Wednesday, recalled Bush asking during the reception two
weeks ago.

"I told him I'd like to get them out of Iraq," Webb said.

"That's not what I asked. How's your boy?" the president replied, according to Webb.

At that point, Webb said, Bush got a response similar to what reporters and others who had asked Webb
about Lance Cpl. Jimmy Webb, 24, have received since the young man left for Iraq around Labor Day:
"I told him that was between my boy and me."

Webb, a leading critic of the Iraq war, said that he had avoided the receiving line and photo op with
Bush, but that the president found him. The White House had no comment on the reception.

Webb, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War and Navy secretary under President Reagan, left the GOP
in part over the Iraq war. He warned against the invasion, and criticized Bush over Iraq during the
Senate campaign.

He said he meant no disrespect to the presidency during the reception, but "I've always made a
distinction about not speaking personally about my son."

In interviews during the campaign, Webb said it was wrong to elevate the role of one Marine over
others. Webb also expressed concern that a high profile could subject a Marine to greater peril.
In Following His Own Script, Webb May Test Senate's Limits
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 29, 2006; A01

Note: I only included excerpts from this article

If the exchange with Bush two weeks ago is any indication, Webb won't be a wallflower, especially
when it comes to the war in Iraq. And he won't stick to a script drafted by top Democrats.

"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," Webb said
in an interview yesterday in which he confirmed the exchange between him and Bush. "No offense to
the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his
administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the
message is."

"He's not a typical politician. He really has deep convictions," said Schumer, who headed the Senate
Democrats' campaign arm. "We saw this in the campaign. We would have disagreements. But when
you made a persuasive argument, he would say, 'You're right.' I am truly not worried about it. He
understands the need to be part of a team."

One senior Democratic staff member on Capitol Hill, who spoke on condition that he not be identified
so he could speak freely about the new senator, said that Webb's lack of political polish was part of his
charm as a candidate but could be a problem as a senator.

"I think he's going to be a total pain. He is going to do things his own way. That's a good thing and a
bad thing," the staff member said.

"He is not a backslapper," Kaine said. "There are different models that succeed in politics. There's the
hail-fellow-well-met model of backslapping. That's not his style."

"There are no senators who have that everyday anxiety that he has as a dad with a youngster on the
front lines. That gives him gravitas and credibility on this issue," Kaine said. "People in the Senate, I'm
sure, will agree with him or disagree with him on issue to issue. But they won't doubt that he's coming
at it from a real sense of duty."
NOTE: the following referenced notes have been deleted here. Refer to the section “NOTES FROM
THE NOVELS OF JAMES WEBB”:

APPENDIX “B”
************************************************************************

8-23-06
SOMETHING TO DIE FOR
James Webb (1991; paperback Avon Books 1992)

************************************************************************
APPENDIX “C”
************************************************************************
8-23-06
A SENSE OF HONOR
James Webb (1981; Bluejacket Press 1995)

**********************************************************************
APPENDIX “D”
***********************************************************************

11-12-06

“THE EMPEROR’S GENERAL”

James Webb (Hardcover, 1999)

The following are notes from this historical novel centered about General MacArthur‟s “military
commission” trial of Japanese General Yamashita for war-crimes in Manila. (Not a shining precedent
for today‟s “Military Commissions Act” just passed by Congress). Senator James Webb‟s thirst for
justice and honor is clearly shown in this book:
*********************************************************************
APPENDIX “E”
*********************************************************************

11-12-06

“BORN FIGHTING”
How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

James Webb (2004, Hardcover)

8 The slurs stick to me, standing on their graves. Rednecks. Trailer-park trash. Racists.
Cannon fodder. My ancestors. Me.

343 We face the world on our feet and not on our knees. We were born fighting. And if the
cause is right, we will never retreat.

312 My professional career in writing and government is entirely accidental. … At the

Naval Academy, I became one of six finalists for the position of brigade commander, …
and was one of 18 in my class of 841 to receive a special commendation for leadership
… I had graduated first in my class of 243 [at Officer Basic].

311 My own father, who had defined for me the notion of loyalty, became disgusted with
McNamara‟s “whiz kids” after begin assigned to the Pentagon in 1965. …. he urged me
more than once to go into the navy, find myself a nice ship where I could, as he so often
put it, “sit in the wardroom and eat ice cream,” and not risk myself as a Marine … my
father put in his papers to retire from the air force, telling me he “couldn‟t bear to watch
it” while still wearing a military uniform … this strategically botched war was not worth
my life.

288 In their view America‟s political elites, both Republican and Democrat, have grown
together into an almost indiscernible “hybrid royalty” that offers them little to choose
from in terms of how the nation is actually being governed.
********************************************************************
APPENDIX “F”: PERSPECTIVES OF AN AMERICAN RONIN
********************************************************************

11-12-06
Contact: Toni Dixon, School of Business, (785) 864-4449, tldixon@ku.edu.

Ex-Navy secretary, best-selling author James Webb to present

lecture at KU
LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas School of Business and International Center for Ethics in
Business have announced that former Secretary of the Navy and best-selling author James Webb will
give the 2004 Walter S. Sutton Ethics Lecture at 7 p.m. April 28 in the Woodruff Auditorium of Kansas
Memorial Union.

The lecture, "Perspectives of an American Ronin," is free to the public and tickets are not required.
[A ronin is a Samurai warrior who has no master except the truth.]

Webb became secretary of the Navy in 1987, the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in
the military and then become Navy secretary. He resigned a year later after refusing to agree with the
reduction of the Navy's force structure during congressionally mandated budget cuts. More recently, he
has been a strong vocal critic of President George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.

Webb served with the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam and received the Navy Cross, the Silver Star
Medal, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He received his law degree from Georgetown
University.

He has written six best-selling novels, including "Fields of Fire," considered by many to be the classic
novel of the Vietnam War. His original story, "Rules of Engagement," was made into a movie starring
Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. He has traveled worldwide as a journalist, and his PBS
coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut earned him an Emmy Award from the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences.
 April 3, 2008

Dear Senator James Webb,

Four years ago Pat Tillman was killed by “friendly fire” in Afghanistan. Six
“investigations” and two Congressional hearings later, Pat‟s family is still struggling to
learn the truth about the circumstances of his death and those involved in the cover-up of
his fratricide.

Mary Tillman, Pat‟s mother, has written a memoir, Boots on the Ground by Dusk: The Life
and Death of Pat Tillman. Her book will be released on April 29th.

I‟m writing to ask that you consider becoming an advocate in the Senate for Mary
Tillman‟s struggle for the truth. Perhaps you could arrange to meet Mary in May during
the Washington D.C. leg of her national book tour? Mary‟s home phone is (408) ***-
****. Her editor at Rodale Press is Leigh Haber (212) ***-****. Her publicist is Beth
Davey (212) ***-****.

I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family. They are
Scots-Irish. Military service was prevalent and respected in their family (e.g. Mary‟s
father was a Marine in the Korean War). Like your own son, Pat did not feel he should
remain privileged during a time of war. After 9/11 he enlisted (with his brother Kevin) and
they fought together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was driven by honesty,
integrity, and loyalty. He lived his life intensely, was well-read, and was an independent
thinker; “… sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long.”

I‟ve read your books for thirty years, starting before my eight years in the Army and
continued my past seventeen years as a firefighter. After recently re-reading your novels, I
noticed several parallels between Pat Tillman‟s fratricide and your novels:

In Something to Die For, Col. Fogarty was ordered into a mistaken battle, posthumously
awarded the Medal of Honor, and eulogized by the President during a televised memorial
service. The mistaken battle was covered-up. Similarly, a dangerous order resulted in Pat
Tillman‟s fratricide. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and eulogized by
Senator McCain during a televised memorial service. Tillman‟s fratricide was covered-up
by Army generals, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and the White House.

In Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges lost men after he was ordered to place them into a dangerous
LP. Later, Hodges was shot during a firefight around a disabled tank. Similarly, Lt.
Uthlaut was ordered by his TOC to split his platoon, despite his repeated protests, to both
get “boots on the ground by dusk” and escort a disabled humvee. During the resulting
fratricide Uthlaut and his RO were wounded and Pat Tillman killed by criminally negligent
friendly fire.

In A Sense of Honor, Cpt. Lenahan and Fogarty were kicked out of the Naval Academy to
protect their superiors from a “hazing scandal.” Similarly, Lt. Uthlaut (First Captain at
West Point) was offered up as a scapegoat and kicked out of his Ranger Battalion.

In The Emperor’s General, Army lawyer Frank Witherspoon railed against the injustice of
General MacArthur‟s war-crimes trial of Japanese General Yamashita. Just before the
2006 elections, Kevin Tillman railed against recent injustices in “After Pat‟s Birthday.”
Last year, on April 24, 2007, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a
hearing entitled “Hearing on Misleading Information from the Battlefield.”

Kevin Tillman, Pat‟s brother, began his testimony with a prepared statement:

“Two days ago marked the third anniversary of the death of my older brother, Pat Tillman,
in Afghanistan. To our family and friends, it was a devastating loss. To the nation, it was
a moment of disorientation. To the military, it was a nightmare. But to others within the
government, it appears to have been an opportunity.”

“Revealing that Pat‟s death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster
... So the facts needed to be suppressed. … An alternative narrative had to be
constructed. Crucial evidence was destroyed including Pat‟s uniform, equipment and
notebook. The autopsy was not done according to regulation, and a field hospital report
was falsified. An initial investigation completed … before testimony could be changed …
[and which hit disturbingly close to the mark] disappeared into thin air and was
conveniently replaced by another investigation with more palatable findings.”

“… while each investigation gathered more information, the mountain of evidence was
never used to arrive at an honest or even sensible conclusion. … The handling of the
situation after the firefight was described as a compilation of „missteps, inaccuracies and
errors in judgment which created the perception of concealment.‟”

“Writing a Silver Star award before a single eye witness account is taken is not a misstep.
Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. … Discarding an
(15-6) investigation that does not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment.
These are deliberate acts of deceit. This is not the perception of concealment. This is
concealment.”

Mary Tillman, Pat‟s mother, also testified at that hearing about the fratricide cover-up:

“We had officers that we trusted. We had high regard for them. … in your heart they are
your kids and you turn them over, and we trusted. Certainly, we knew they could die or
they could come back wounded … But we never thought that they would use him (Pat) the
way they did.”

[Mary wrote: “… the Army was placed in a position to spin the narrative of Pat‟s death …
(General) Yellen stated it was like, …‟It went up to the 2-star level and the 2-star took it
right to the 4-star level … now all of a sudden, … „Here is the steak dinner, but we‟re
giving it to you on this … garbage can cover.‟ You know, „You got it. You work it.‟”]

“And we shouldn‟t be allowed to have smokescreens thrown in our face. … in every way,
they (Army CID investigators) dodged. They are dodging us, and the (Department of
Defense) IG condoned that even though they make the public believe they did such a grand
job because they pointed the finger at four generals and five other officers. That is a
smokescreen. These officers are scapegoats.”

“It is a bit disingenuous to think that the (Bush) Administration did not know about what
was going on, something so politically sensitive. … The fact that he (Pat) would be killed
by friendly fire and no one would tell (Defense Secretary) Rumsfeld is ludicrous … … the
idea that they wouldn‟t tell Abizaid (Centcom commander) what was going on if he didn‟t
already know is ridiculous.”
I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family:

The Tillman‟s are of Scots-Irish descent. Pat‟s picture is among those of famous
Americans featured on the cover of Parade Magazine‟s October 3, 2004 issue, entitled
“Can You Guess What They All Have in Common?” (adapted from Born Fighting.)

Military service was prevalent and respected in the Tillman family. Mary Tillman‟s uncles
were at Pearl Harbor, her brother was a Marine, and her father was a Marine during the
Korean War. Mary wrote, “From the time I was very little, I was aware of my father‟s
pride in being a Marine. When I was three years old … I would stand between my parents,
feet digging into the soft leather of the big front seat, and sing the entire Marine Corps
Hymn at the top of my lungs.”

Your own son chose to leave college to enlist with the Marines. Likewise, Pat Tillman
chose to leave a multi-million dollar NFL contract (and new wife) to enlist in the Rangers
with his brother Kevin. Pat didn‟t feel that he ought to remain privileged while others
were sent to fight. As his mother testified, “Pat had high ideals for the country. He did,
and he thought it was imperfect. He certainly didn‟t join for political reasons. He thought
the country was in need. It didn‟t matter who was in office. It didn‟t matter which party
he voted for. That is beside the point. The country was in need.”

(Ironically, Pat and Kevin were later sent to fight in Iraq although they had come to
believe, in Pat‟s words, “This war is so fucking illegal.”)

Similarly, in Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges said, “They were only soldiers. They had never
owned or determined the reasons for a war, and they had not asked for this one. They had
merely yielded to their honor and tradition and agreed to fight it. And they were not
wrong, not wrong.”

Pat Tillman was driven by a core of honesty, integrity, and loyalty. His mother wrote, “Pat
was honest and incorruptible; he would be offended and outraged about the actions taken
in the aftermath of his death. … Honor, integrity, dignity; those weren‟t just adjectives in
Pat Tillman‟s life; they were his life. Pat Tillman was the embodiment of loyalty and
commitment. … He was such a loyal person. He always wanted to do right by the people
who mattered to him.”

Similarly, in A Country Such As This, Senator Judd Smith said, “If nothing ever works out
all the way, and if all things change, what‟s left? Your family and your friends and your
values, that‟s what‟s left. And your duty to them. … They‟re the only important things in
life. … And that the rest of it might change a million times, be called wrong or right or
anything else, but you must never violate your loyalty if you wished to survive the
judgment of the ages.”

Pat Tillman lived his life intensely, led by example, and went all out every play. He was
well-read and an independent thinker. In school, he earned a 3.84 grade-point average.
Pat had written in his journal since he was sixteen years old (his wartime journal was
“lost” by the Army immediately after his death).

Pat Tillman was a character much like Cpt. Lenahan and cadet Fogarty in A Sense of
Honor: “He is sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He is,
in fact, myself in a matchbox.”
Over the past thirty years I‟ve read all your books. I started with Fields of Fire as a
teenager, and continued reading your books during my eight years serving in an Airborne
LRRP company [SSGT, 1983 -1991, Co. “F” (Ranger) 425th Infantry MI Army National
Guard] and my past seventeen years as a firefighter with the ********************.

After recently re-reading your books, I noticed several parallels between your novels
and Pat Tillman’s fratricide:

In Something to Die For, Col. Fogarty was ordered to place his Marines into a precarious
fight in Eritrea. This mistaken battle was covered-up by the Secretary of Defense and
Fogarty was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by the President during a
nationally televised funeral service:

“He [Secretary of Defense] knows the administration‟s position on the matter was a
cover-up. Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didn‟t want the
president to look bad.”

“Ron Holcomb [Secretary of Defense] never told a lie, at least not in the way he
could be caught in it. …As a consequence, the remarks were a mix of bald truth,
diplomatic half-truths, and what Holcomb had privately called „necessary,
unconfirmable distortions.‟ Nonetheless, they would become the government‟s
official pronouncement on the day‟s action.”

“And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehand that their
allegations were borne out by facts if not the truth.”

Similarly, Pat Tillman died as a result of a dangerous order to split his platoon, was
posthumously awarded the Silver Star, and his memorial service was televised with
Senator McCain among the dignitaries offering eulogies. Tillman‟s fratricide was covered-
up by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Army generals and the White House.
…

In Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges lost three of his men because he was ordered by Lt. Kersey
(at the Battalion command post) to put them out into a dangerous LP:

“LPs on the other side of this wire are crazy as hell. … The rule I use is, would I
think it made any sense if I got sent out on it? And I wouldn‟t. So I don‟t like it.”

“Now, if the Lieutenant believes the LP shouldn‟t be out there, I suggest he go talk
with the battalion staff.”

“Hodges did not know how to force his point. “Can‟t ask for more than having the
Big Six consider it, I reckon.”

“Bullshit.” … “He (1st Lt. Kersey) ain‟t gonna talk to the Colonel about this. … As
long as he‟s looking good to the Man, he couldn‟t give a rat‟s ass how many people
are bleeding.”

“He (Lt. Hodges) had met a dozen Kerseys in the Marine Corps already. They
held all ranks, although to him they seemed to be mostly Majors.”
 Lt. Uthlaut was Pat‟s platoon leader. His platoon had been held up by a broken
humvee. Maj. Hodne at the TOC wanted “boots on the ground by dusk” in the
village of Manah merely so he could mark that task accomplished on-time on his
checklist. Major Hodne, through Cpt. Saunders, ordered Lt. Uthlaut to split his
platoon. Half would go to Manah, and half would escort the humvee to the
highway for pick-up. Lt. Uthlaut thought it was dangerous and unnecessary to split
his platoon. He repeatedly argued the point with Cpt. Saunders in the TOC.

Near the end of Fields of Fire, Lt. Hodges is ordered to secure a dangerous perimeter
around a disabled tank. During the ensuing firefight, he is shot in the face and killed:

“Hodges grunted. “Fucking tank.” … Snake shifted his gaze to the treadless tank
that had anchored them in such an indefensible position. It sat like a wounded
mastodon in the middle of the exposed paddy. … The company was digging a
perimeter around it, to protect it.”

Similarly, Tillman‟s platoon was put into danger by a disabled humvee. During the
“friendly fire” that resulted from splitting his platoon Lt. Uthlaut was hit in the face, his
RO shot in the leg, and Pat Tillman killed by criminally negligent fire by the lead vehicle
of the second section (Tillman was killed by rounds fired from only 35 meters away).
...

In A Sense of Honor, Cpt. Lenahan and cadet Fogarty were kicked out of the Naval
Academy to protect their superiors from a “hazing scandal”:

“Admiral, I‟ve got a man in trouble on a plebe-indoctrination charge. … My man

won‟t stand a chance.”

“Do you realize the implications if this gets out, Captain? You were there when
these violations were going on. … If we sided with Fogarty, we could lose the
whole plebe system. … In fact, we‟ve lost more than Fogarty. I‟m afraid you‟ve
just become a casualty yourself. … You get orders out of here before somebody
decides to investigate you.”

Similarly, Lt. Uthlaut (First Captain, top of his West Point Class) was offered up as a low-
ranking scapegoat and kicked out of the Ranger Battalion for his “failure” to control his
platoon during the “friendly fire” incident. (Captain Saunders and Major Hodne later
denied they ordered Lt. Uthlaut to split his platoon).
...

In The Emperor’s General, Army lawyer Frank Witherspoon railed against the injustice of
General MacArthur‟s war-crimes trial of Japanese General Yamashita:

“… what he‟s [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. We‟re Americans, Captain.

We‟re supposedly bringing an accused man into the American system of justice. …
He‟s convened a military commission! It‟s not – a – court.”

“I reminded him that we‟re supposed to be operating under traditional American

concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice. … Do you realize what this
trial – if you can call it a trial – this illegal, judgeless commission is going to look
like? It‟s going to be nothing but a public circus! ... why are we wasting our
credibility as the United States on this man?”
Kevin Tillman, Pat‟s younger brother, enlisted and fought with Pat in Iraq and
Afghanistan. After Pat‟s death, Kevin refused all interviews and remained silent for 2 ½
years. Just before the November 2006 elections, Kevin finally broke his silence with a
short essay “After Pat‟s Birthday” (excerpted below):

“It is Pat‟s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after.”

“Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by
setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly
holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly
torturing them. …Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few
bad apples. Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is
tolerated. Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country
safe.”

“Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has
become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in
the world. … Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its
people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue
and honor of its soldiers on the ground.”

“Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still
can take action. It can start after Pat‟s birthday.”
...

“Did they teach you how to lie yet?” (Senator Smith’s dad in A Country Such As This)

Last summer, on August 1, 2007, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a
second hearing: “The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department
Knew.” The phrase, “I don‟t recall,” was uttered repeatedly by witnesses.

Mary wrote, “General Brown, retired generals Meyers and Abizaid, and Rumsfeld have
great difficulty remembering what they knew and when they knew it. Someone sitting
next to me whispers, „They have collective amnesia.‟ Rumsfeld was asked several times in
various ways when he learned of Pat‟s death, but he couldn‟t recall.”

Mary complained, “… we were not happy with the hearing at all. We had spent weeks
helping getting questions prepared and sending information. The Republicans on the
committee were at best indifferent … Most of the Democrats disappointed us as well.
They were not prepared and they didn‟t think on their feet. We expected more from
Congress.”

The White House claimed “executive branch confidentiality” when the House Committee
on Oversight and Reform requested information about their handling of the Tillman
fratricide. The White House refused to release e-mails and documents or to allow White
House staff to testify before the committee.

During the April 24, 2007 hearing, Mary said, “… Congress is supposed to take care of
their citizens. … Pat died for this country, and he believed it was a great country that had a
system that worked. It is not perfect. No one has ever said that. But there is a system in
place to allow for it to work, and your job is to find out what happened to Pat.”
In A Country Such As This, Senator Judd Smith argued: “And no, the military isn‟t just
fine. The point is, it isn‟t corrupt. It‟s a system with human failures.”

But when “human failures” systematically extend up every single link in the chain-of-
command (to include the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, Army Chief of Staff, and the Secretary
of Defense) up to and including the White House, how is this not a corrupt country? Every
single institution in this country has failed the Tillman family, including the Army
leadership, Congress, White House and the mainstream media.

Perhaps Senator Rowland, in Something to Die For, hit the nail on the head:

“How lofty it must have been to have burnt with the purity of the Revolution! Before the
days of multi-million dollar election campaigns that brought politicians to their knees
before the monied temple of the contributors. Before the time of computerized politics that
cause them to await the wisdom of those oracles known as pollsters before they spoke. Or
maybe it had been trash from the get-go, myths to feed the public.”
...

Your novels over the past thirty years have dealt with themes of honor, integrity, loyalty,
and betrayal. I believe you might feel a sense of kinship with Pat Tillman and his family.
Perhaps you could arrange to meet with Mary Tillman during her May book tour? And
perhaps you would consider becoming an advocate in the Senate for the Tillman family‟s
struggle for the truth?

Sincerely,

**************

P.S. I was an early supporter of your long-shot ‟06 Senate campaign (from the fall of ‟05
through your election I made six contributions to your campaign). Most satisfying money
I‟ve ever given to a “lost” cause! Perhaps only the “lost” causes are worth fighting for?
 AFTER PAT’S BIRTHDAY

Pat and Kevin Tillman --just before entering Iraq, March 2003

Marie Tillman, Mary Tillman, Rich Tillman, Kevin Tillman, Patrick Tillman, Sr.
-- Memorial Service, May 2004
After Pat’s Birthday
Posted on Oct 19, 2006

By Kevin Tillman

Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia
before their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003.

Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and
they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on
April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful,
must-read document.

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me
thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He
spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were
at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could
be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave
us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the
American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the
September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had
mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to
establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that
can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by
setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly
holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly
torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few
“bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old
kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping
stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s
interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing
from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or
an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle
50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion
becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and
illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and
honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send
soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not
and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has
become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in
the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by
apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious

criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be
shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the
nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that
“somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country
vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can
take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman, Kevin Tillman

BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK
 BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK
Mary Tillman
(Rodale Press, 2008)

(Note: quotes are from the “Advance Copy Uncorrected Proof”)

29 From the time I was very little, I was aware of my father‟s pride in being a Marine.
When I was three years old, in the days before car seats, I would stand between my
parents, feet digging into the soft leather of the big front seat, and sing the entire Marine
Corps Hymn at the top of my lungs. “From the Halls of Mountezuma …” My father
would sing with me.

26 … our fascination with military history came directly from my father, Richard M.
Spaulding, who had served as a Marine in the Korean War, and from my mother‟s
brother, John Conlin, who had served in WWII and the Korean War, and then the
National Guard.

29 My dad, like my father-in-law, didn‟t talk much about the specifics of his military
service or any horrors he might have seen. It wasn‟t until after he died that I learned that
his best friend had been blown up by a land mine just yards in front of him.

29 My brother Richard served in the Marines in the late seventies, and my brother-in-law
Jim served in the Army around the same time. Military service was prevalent in my
family and my husband‟s family and we were taught to respect it.

28 Military service was part of the life of my husband‟s family as well … Their (her
son‟s) paternal grandfather, Hank Tillman, and two great uncles had served in the Navy,
and all were stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed by the Japanese; all three
survived.

28 As children, we‟d played military games while visiting my uncle John. I knew that
during WWII he had been the last soldier to parachute safely out of a crashing plane …

26 Discussions about the military had been part of the boy‟s childhood – why people
fight for their country; why they should; when it is right to do so; the effect of war on
people; how it crushes them tragically or enables them to do heroic things. At dinnertime
and at holiday gatherings, our conversations had often turned to the military and its place
in history and in our family. My sons were influenced by these stories and of our
family‟s military past.

30 We talked about how war best exemplifies the camaraderie of men, especially when
in battle, and puts people in positions to think about what they value, making them put
their integrity on the line.

26 Thirty-five years ago, he (my father) and I had been at odds over Vietnam. He‟d died
before seeing the outcome of that involvement. Would he have encouraged Pat and
Kevin? Or would he have feared, as I did now, that our family had glamorized the honor
of military service?
Steak Dinner On a Garbage Can Cover:

226 “It went up to the 2-star level and the 2-star took it right to the 4-star level.
Basically we, you know, came to USASOC when basically all, you know, everything
opened up and now all of a sudden, okay, it‟s sort of like, „Here is the steak dinner, but
we‟re giving it to you on this, you know, garbage can cover.‟ You know, “You got it.
You work it‟”
-- General Yellen (SOCOM) interview, General Jone‟s 12/04 Investigation

268 Colonel Hans Bush, chief of public affairs at Fort Bragg claims he knew nothing
about how Pat really died until May 28, 2004, yet he received an e-mail on April 30,
2004, with the subject title “Corporal Tillman‟s Silver Star Game Plan.” Why do you
need a game plan for a Silver Star. On May 29, 2004, Robert Gaylord, chief of Army
public affairs, sent out emails congratulating everyone for damage control in Pat‟s death.

A Sense of Honor:

154 Honor, integrity, dignity; those weren‟t just adjectives in Pat Tillman‟s life; they
were his life. Pat Tillman was the embodiment of loyalty and commitment.

183 He was such a loyal person. He always wanted to do right by the people who
mattered to him.

235 Pat was honest and incorruptible; he would be offended and outraged about the
actions taken in the aftermath of his death. We owe it to Pat to find out who is behind
these deceptions and how high it goes.

McCain:

118 He (McCain) was the senator from Pat‟s “adopted” state, and he was someone Pat
had admired growing up. Pat had read several books about McCain and his experience in
the prisoner-of-war camp in Vietnam.

236 I have been going through Senator John McCain‟s office to get answers to my
family‟s mounting concerns. However, I sense Pat‟s case has become something of a
political encumbrance to McCain. Gradually, I have turned to my congressman for help.

.
HEARING ON MISLEADING INFORMATION
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD
House Committee on Oversight & Reform
April 24, 2007
 FROM KEVIN TILLMAN’S STATEMENT TO THE HEARING ON
MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIED
(April 24, 2007 House Committee on Oversight and Reform)

Patrick Tillman, Sr. and Kevin Tillman

Two days ago marked the third anniversary of the death of my older brother, Pat Tillman,
in Afghanistan. To our family and friends, it was a devastating loss. To the nation, it was
a moment of disorientation. To the military, it was a nightmare. But to others within the
government, it appears to have been an opportunity.

In the days leading up to Pat‟s memorial service, media accounts based on information
provided by the Army and the White House were wreathed in a patriotic glow and became
more dramatic in tone. A terrible tragedy that might have further undermined support for
the war in Iraq was transformed into an inspirational message that served instead to
support the nation‟s foreign policy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To further exploit Pat‟s
death, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor.

This was a narrative that inspired countless Americans as intended. There was one small
problem with the narrative, however. It was utter fiction.

The content of the multiple investigations revealed a series of contradictions that strongly
suggest deliberate and careful misrepresentations. We appeal to this committee because
we believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly to
deceive the American public.
Revealing that Pat‟s death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster
… So the facts needed to be suppressed. … An alternative narrative had to be
constructed. Crucial evidence was destroyed including Pat‟s uniform, equipment and
notebook. The autopsy was not done according to regulation, and a field hospital report
was falsified. An initial investigation completed … before testimony could be changed …
and which hit disturbingly close to the mark disappeared into thin air and was conveniently
replaced by another investigation with more palatable findings.

After the truth of Pat‟s death was partially revealed, Pat was no longer of use as a sales
asset and became strictly the Army‟s problem. … With any luck, our family would sink
quietly into their grief, and the whole unsavory episode would be swept under the rug.
However, they miscalculated our family‟s reaction.

Through the amazing strength and perseverance of my mother … our family has managed
to have multiple investigations conducted. However, while each investigation gathered
more information, the mountain of evidence was never used to arrive at an honest or even
sensible conclusion.

The handling of the situation of the situation after the firefight was described as a
compilation of “missteps, inaccuracies and errors in judgment which created the perception
of concealment.”

Writing a Silver Star award before a single eye witness account is taken is not a misstep.
Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. … Discarding an
(15-6) investigation that does not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment.
These are deliberate acts of deceit. This is not the perception of concealment. This is
concealment.

Our family has relentlessly pursued the truth on this matter for three years. We have now
concluded that our efforts are being actively thwarted by powers that are more interested in
protecting a narrative than getting at the truth or seeing that justice is served. That is why
we ask Congress … to exercise its power to investigate the inconsistencies in Pat‟s death
and the aftermath and all the other soldiers that were betrayed by this system.

The one bit of truth that did survive these manipulations is that Pat was and still is a great
man. He is the most wonderful older brother to ever exist. Pat wanted to leave a positive
legacy based on his actions, and he did that. Pat‟s death at the hands of his comrades is a
terrible tragedy.

But the fact that the Army, and what appears to be others, attempted to hijack his virtue
and his legacy is simply horrific. The least this country can do for him in return is to
uncover who is responsible for his death, who lied and covered it up, and who instigated
those lies and benefited from them. Then, ensure that justice is meted out to the culpable.
Pat and these other soldiers volunteered to put their lives on the line for this country.
Anything less than the truth is a betrayal of those values that all soldiers who have fought
for this nation have sought to uphold.
 FROM MARY TILLMAN’S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE
HEARING ON MISLEADING INFORMATION FROM THE BATTLEFIED
(April 24, 2007 House Committee on Oversight and Reform)

This family has great respect for the military. My dad served. My uncle served. I just
want to make that clear. … The most comforting sight right after Pat died was the sight of
General Kensinger (commander SOCOM) which is very sad to me because I didn‟t know
what his role was in the cover-up. He was very kind. He was very impressive in his
uniform, and I felt very proud that he was there. In other words, we were made to feel
foolish, I think. I mean there is an element of betrayal. You feel rather foolish. “Well,
how did I not pick up on this?”

… we have all been betrayed. It isn‟t just our family. Every time they betray a soldier,
they betray all of us. Pat had high ideals for the country. He did, and he thought it was
imperfect. He certainly didn‟t join for political reasons. He thought the country was in
need. It didn‟t matter who was in office. It didn‟t matter which party he voted for. That is
beside the point. The country was in need. We had officers that we trusted. We had high
regard for them. … in your heart they (her sons) are your kids and you turn them over, and
we trusted. Certainly, we knew they could die or they could come back wounded … But
we never thought that they would use him the way they did.

And so, it is a betrayal, but it is not just a betrayal to us, and that is why we are here. …
This is a very big issue, and that is why we are in front of Congress, because Congress is
supposed to take care of their citizens.
Pat died for this country, and he believed it was a great country that had a system that
worked. It is not perfect. No one has ever said that. But there is a system in place to
allow for it to work, and your job is to find out what happened to Pat

… we have been asked over and over again, well, what can we do for your family? How
can we appease you? And it makes me sick. It is not about our family. Our family will
never be satisfied. We will never have Pat back. But what is so outrageous is this isn‟t
about Pat. This is about what they did to Pat and what they did to the Nation.

By making up these false stories … you are diminishing their true heroism. It may not be
pretty. It may not be out of a John Wayne movie, but that is not what war is all about. It is
ugly. It is bloody. It is painful. And to write these glorious tales is really a disservice to
the Nation. … And we shouldn‟t be allowed to have smokescreens thrown in our face.

...

… in every way, they (CID) dodged. They are dodging us, and the IG condoned that even
thought they make the public believe they did such a grand job because they pointed the
finger at four generals and five other officers. That is a smokescreen. These officers are
scapegoats.

… Well, I contend that almost every soldier in Afghanistan at that point knew that Pat had
been killed by fratricide. So the idea that they wouldn‟t tell Abizaid what was going on if
he didn‟t already know is ridiculous.

The fact that he (Pat Tillman) would be killed by friendly fire and no one would tell
Rumsfeld is ludicrous because he would have had a fit. … I believe these generals would
be absolutely foolish not to tell him.

It is a bit disingenuous to think that the Administration did not know about what was going
on, something so politically sensitive.
NOTES FROM JAMES WEBB’S
NOVELS:

“I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of my
place in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none of
those certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, so eager
to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.”

-- James Webb, “A Sense of Honor” (1981)

 8-23-06
SOMETHING TO DIE FOR
James Webb (1991; paperback Avon Books 1992)

Note: Silver Star on the front cover; same medal awarded Pat Tillman

72 “… it‟s going to cost us. And I‟d like to be able to tell my men that the price
they‟re going to pay is worth it. That it‟s important to the country. Vital.
Something to die for.

387 “We are awarding the Medal of Honor to the family of one of our brave
officers,….”

395 “You (President) killed my Dad. Why? Why‟d you send him in? Why?”

383 It was the look of an accuser who was not afraid to die. The boy (Fogarty‟s
son) probably didn‟t even know it yet, but he had become his father‟s
avenger.

401 “He knows the administration‟s position on the matter was a cover-up. ..
Eritrea was a mistake. But it worked. And they didn‟t want the president to
look bad.”
...

160 Holcomb liked to say that Lazaretti (his military aide) had a penchant for
playing politics with a small p. The general was unable to comprehend the
duplicity and multiple agendas at the Cabinet level and in the Congress … the
issue behind the issue, the secret agenda that was being explored while the
visible problem was being confronted.

54 Ron Holcomb never told a lie, at least not in the way he could be caught in
it. But he was a master dissembler, capable of taking the truth and twisting it
into so many directions that it became fantasy at the same time it was
undeniable.

55 Holcomb almost never lied. He would merely package the facts, box them
up and wrap them with a bright, optimistic ribbon. And anyway, his version
could never be challenged.

340 Holcomb‟s prepared speech had been given a “spin” by Hank Eichelberger.
As a consequence, the remarks were a mix of bald truth, diplomatic half-
truths, and what Holcomb had privately called “necessary, unconfirmable
distortions.” Nonetheless, they would become the government‟s official
pronouncement on the day‟s action.
356 And the media gave them their forum, always ascertaining beforehand that
their allegations were borne out by facts if not the truth.
...

3 But Bill Fogarty wasn‟t so sure anymore. Maybe he had done it too long.
Maybe it was the recent assignment in Washington, three years split between
working the Congress and serving as an action officer on the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. The assignment had unsettled him, opening up his eyes to the
sometimes bewildering series of second and third agendas advanced by
ambitious top-level executives whenever military force was debated.

7 And times were not good in Washington. Fogarty could sense it from little
hints on the news that he never would have noticed had he not spent three
years learning the doublespeak of government. The more bellicose members
of the administration seemed especially antsy of late, spoiling for a reason to
use military force.

31 Having spent three years watching the Wizards of Oz in Washington, he

stayed up nights wondering about the uses to which they would be put. His
father … equated uncertainty with disloyalty. He had chided Fogarty for
criticizing those above him, especially Ronald Holcomb, the secretary of
defense. … “God save me from manipulative bureaucrats in polyester-wool
suits, button-down collars and power ties, and the kiss-ass officers who let
them get away with it. I don‟t need to see my men die because somebody
cares more about helping the careers of their fellow madrigal singers over in
the White House or the State Department than they do about the troops the
compromise and misuse in places like Beirut and the Persian Gulf”

50 “Do you know what the troops call him (Secretary of Defense)? Chicken
Hawk. Because he didn‟t have the guts to serve when there was a war on,
and now every time there‟s a crisis he wants to send them in”
...

40 How lofty it must have been to have burnt with the purity of the Revolution!
Before the days of multimillion-dollar election campaigns that brought
politicians to their knees before the monied temple of the contributors. Before
the time of computerized politics that cause them to await the wisdom of those
oracles known as pollsters before they spoke. Or maybe it had been trash
from the get-go, myths to feed the public.
 3-25-08

FIELDS OF FIRE
(1978)

James Webb

2 Hodges grunted. “Fucking tank.” … Snake shifted his gaze to the treadless
tank that had anchored them in such an indefensible position. It sat like a
wounded mastodon in the middle of the exposed paddy. … The company was
digging a perimeter around it, to protect it.
...

126 “The rule I use is, would I think it made any sense if I got sent out on it? And
I wouldn‟t. So I don‟t like it.” … “Now, if the Lieutenant believes the LP
shouldn‟t be out there, I suggest he go talk with the battalion staff.”

127 “LPs on the other side of this wire are crazy as hell.” … Hodges did not know
how to force his point. “Can‟t ask for more than having the Big Six consider
it, I reckon.” … “Bullshit,” said Snake, “He (1LT Kersey) ain‟t gonna talk to
the Colonel about this.”

128 “As long as he‟s looking good to the Man, he couldn‟t give a rat‟s ass how
many people are bleeding.” … He had met a dozen Kerseys in the Marine
Corps already. They held all ranks, although to him they seemed to be mostly
Majors.
...

155 Dangling Bait. Drifting from village to village, … Inviting an enemy attack
much as a worm seeks to attract a fish: mindlessly, at someone else‟s urging,
for someone else‟s reason.

158 No patrol like this was finished until the bodies were found and tabulated. …
He didn‟t want to do it. … feeling that he was offering his body as a sacrifice
in the name of not bagging a superior‟s order. Blind obedience. Here I am,
God of Dumb. Take me quick.

159 Just fuck „em. Fuck everybody who doesn‟t come out here and do this. Let
them go and check that treeline. What do they know?

162 … he pounded the dust some more, making a vow of rage. He would not
allow their blood to have soaked into that unproductive dust merely for some
mad amorphous folly. … waiting to be killed so they can have more bodies on
their tote boards when the react pulls us from where we never should have had
 to go. Those Bastards sit somewhere with air conditioners around them and
Coca-Cola inside them while we drink this goddamn wormy water.
...

35 “Sometimes I wish I have never told you those stories, Bobby. I just wanted
you to remember your daddy. Now, you be careful. Hodges never had a lick
of luck at this.” … Ghosts and glory. It stunned him to hear her say it.

25 These people have no sense of country. They don‟t look beyond themselves.
… We‟ve lost a sense of responsibility, at least on the individual level. … And
the common good is defined by who wins at the polls, and the policies they
make. Like it or lump it.

35 He was not anxious to save Vietnam from itself and he did not relish facing
North Vietnamese guns for a year, but he reasoned that, after all, a man cannot
choose his country‟s enemy. … And besides, Vietnam was something to be
done with, a duty. Not for Vietnam. For honor …

26 Man‟s noblest moment is that one spent on the fields of fire. I believe that.
My war is not as simple as yours was, Father. People seem to question their
obligation to serve on other than their own terms. … I fight because we have
always fought. It doesn‟t matter who.

31 It was a continuum, a litany. Pride. Courage. Fear. An inherited right to

violence. And the pride accumulated, even as the reasons themselves grew
more amorphous.

32 It was the fight that mattered, not the cause. … But in any event, he was
serving, offering himself on the altar of his own culture. A litany, an
inheritance of coursing, unreasoned pride. … It became a religion to him.
He believed in God but most of all he believed in his father and the other
Ghosts.
 8-26-07

“A COUNTRY SUCH AS THIS”

James Webb, (1983)

554 People. And pride. And proud people are loyal. Think of this, OK? If nothing
ever works out all the way, and if all things change, what‟s left? Your family and
your friends and your values, that‟s what‟s left. And your duty to them. So they
aren‟t the most important things in life … They‟re the only important things in
life.

538 … loyalty to people and culture was the key to life. And that the rest of it might
change a million times, be called wrong or right or anything else, but that you
must never violate your loyalty if you wished to survive the judgment of the ages.

330 He was not a big man but he had a sort of power in him; not the affirmative
directness of the achiever who must win, but the simple tenacity of a man who has
never won and thus does not really even think about winning, but rather sees life
as a daily refusal to be beaten.
...

491 At the corner of south Capital Street and Independence Avenue … he jogged
across the avenue, passing through a curtain of shrubbery into a small park. …
He found his favorite tree and removed his coat, folding it carefully inside out,
and sat down, leaning against the tree trunk as though it was a lounging chair.
The park was his frequent daytime hideout. …When it got to be too much, he
simply picked up a carry-out lunch and escaped into the plain view of the park.

… His public cloister allowed contemplation … Congress was a dog and pony
show. He was doing vital things, at least part of the time, but it would end
someday, just like everything else always had and always would. … And the
gnarled base of his favorite old tree was itself a throne, from which he could peer
out on the Capital, a few hundred feet away, and the House Office Buildings just
across the street. … The Capital building was a wonderfully dramatic
background.
...

503 And no, the military isn‟t just fine. The point is, it isn‟t corrupt. It‟s a system
with human failures.

446 Did they teach you how to lie yet?

3 You could foul the world in many ways, he thought, and maybe you were even
supposed to do it. But failing to honor your word was different. You defiled
yourself, not the world, and you did so indelibly.
7 The flotsam that had always kept him from drowning had always been values. …
It was his one great satisfaction, that he had honored them. Not always, but
whenever he could.

348 … the only really important measure of success is here, in your personal life. …
Life happens to you soon enough without planning it and getting disappointed,
either because you planned too low or too high.
...
388 They were only soldiers. They had never owned or determined the reasons for a
war, and they had not asked for this one. They had merely yielded to their honor
and tradition and agreed to fight it. And they were not wrong, not wrong.

501 Little hooks designed to shake the foundations of belief in traditional views of the
country as a wholesome and well-intentioned nation.

272 Did I ever tell you about Johnny Cash? Johnny Cash is from over in Arkansas.
His daddy was a dirt farmer, just like my daddy.
 8-23-06

A SENSE OF HONOR
James Webb

(1981; Bluejacket Press 1995)

233 He is sensitive and fierce, a poet and a warrior, as Irish as the day is long. He
is, in fact, myself in a matchbox.

104 “Poetry will sustain your emotions. It‟s the lightning rod of the soul. Don‟t
be afraid to be sensitive, just because you‟re a hard-ass.”

133 „Nay, whatever comes/One hour was sunlit and the most high gods/May not
make boast of any better thing/Than to have watched that hour as it passed.‟
There‟s a poem for you. Ezra Pound”
...

74 I was stronger then, but I am fiercer now. I was so certain of life, and of my
place in it. I was so sure of my love, and of my future. I now have none of
those certainties, but at least I can comprehend pain. I was so ready, so eager
to fight and now I pay, richly pay, for having fought.

134 I guess that‟s what the world does to you. It makes you realize that honor and
loyalty are traps with no reward.
...

135 At Navy they say only losers turn into philosophers.

27 Ted Lenahan‟s face carried the perpetual look of having just lost a very close
fight. He had defiant, disappointed blue eyes in weary sockets, the soft skin
underneath them too dry and wrinkled for a man of twenty-nine.

11 “Gone soft,sir?” I haven‟t gone soft. I‟ve always been soft. Except when
I‟ve had to be hard.”
...

12 Fogarty chanted as he jogged, in a mindless repetitive whisper. “I can run

all night … I can run all day … I can run all night …”
 11-12-06

“THE EMPEROR’S GENERAL”

James Webb (Hardcover, 1999)

257 … what he‟s [General MacArthur] doing is a sham. We‟re Americans, Captain.
We‟re supposedly bringing an accused man into the American system of justice. This is
a capital case. Yamashita‟s life is at stake. I know a lot of people died in this war, and
life was cheap, but the war is over. Tell MacArthur if he wants to kill Yamashita, why
hide behind us? [Defense lawyer Witherspoon] Why doesn‟t he just come down and
shoot him in the fucking head?

258 MacArthur‟s not a lawyer, and this isn‟t a court! He‟s convened a military
commission! It‟s not – a – court. It‟s his own little creation. A commission composed of
five generals, less than a month after this war is over. … And none of them are lawyers,
either! I don‟t even have a military judge to object to on points of law, like I would in a
regular court-martial, for Christ‟s sake! … Do you think they want to ruin their careers
by pissing off the supreme commander? He‟s waived traditional rules of evidence. …
He didn‟t appoint the defense counsel until three days ago, … and they expect us to be
ready to go to trial within a few weeks!

302 I [Witherspoon] reminded him that we‟re supposed to be operating under

traditional American concepts of law, such as fairness, decency, and justice. And do you
know what he told me? “We‟re in a hurry.”

259 Yamashita had already pulled his soldiers out of Manila. He had declared it an
open city and declined to fight there. He‟d issued written orders to his soldiers against
any form of atrocity. Written orders! When all this [rape of Manila] happened, he was
hauling his ass through the mountains of central Luzon, fighting off twelve American
divisions.

260 The prosecution has been talking to Yamashita for nearly a month, without a
defense lawyer present. … The prosecution has every single fact in this case. And even
they don‟t dispute what I just said! They know as well as I do that it‟s not going to
matter! Do you realize what this trial – if you can call it a trial – this illegal, judgeless
commission is going to look like? It‟s going to be nothing but a public circus! …. What
are we doing here, Captain? Of all the bloodsucking criminals who did grotesque things
in the war, why are we wasting our credibility as the United States on this man? And in
God‟s name, what is the hurry?
...

124 If he [General Yamashita] returned alive on Japanese soil, his fiercely simple self-
assurance could provide a visible counterpoint and even a rallying point for those who
wished to oppose the supreme commander‟s powers.

190 … he [Yamashita] has always been too independent … he took issue with our war
planners. … [he opposed Pearl Harbor] He predicted that we would lose. … He could
be a problem again if he returns to Japan and speaks about how the war was fought.

266 Sam Genius [lawyer prosecuting Japanese war crimes] was not wrong – shifting
attention from the rape of Naking, with Sam Genius‟s hit list of royal collaborators, was
important, both to MacArthur and to the emperor. But the possible impact of Tomoyuki
Yamashita‟s return to Japan, where he might state his case before the same international
tribunal that General Tojo and the others would face in a few months, was more than the
supreme commander or the emperor either one could bear. Dead or alive, the stoic,
patient Yamashita would survive that forum as a national hero, one whose vision, dignity,
and exploits might overshadow every other figure in the Pacific war.

Every other figure. The imperial government might never live down Yamashita‟s clear-
eyed predictions that the course they had chosen for the war was doomed from the
beginning. And more important, Douglas MacArthur could never destroy Yamashita‟s
reputation as a principled and brilliant battlefield general. So instead, Yamashita would
be kept in the Philippines, to be tried before a panel of nonlawyer military careerists,
whose very purpose would be to destroy his honor.
...

309 Tomoyuki Yamashita had been hauled into the room to sit hour after hour, day
after day, as the cameras captured the undeniable horror of Manila‟s rape. And then he
would be sent out to die. At the end of the first day, even the American jounalists were
grumbling about the blatantly contrived and totally predictable results.

363 The “trial” was finally over. … It was December 6. MacArthur, with his
penchant for anniversaries, had arranged for the verdict to be read to the world during a
live, fifteen-minute radio address on Pearl Harbor Day. That night the twelve American,
British, and Austrailian journalists who had covered every moment of the trial were
polled by the International News Service in a secret ballot. … all twelve voted
Yamashita innocent.

364 ….[from the verdict] “you failed to provide effective control of your troops as
was required by the circumstances” [LT Uthalat parallel]
...

365 [Frank Witherspoon] filed a petition to the Supreme Court. …. “General

MacArthur has taken the law into his own hands, is disregarding the laws of the United
States and the Constitution, and has no authority from Congress or the president.” …
[MacArthur] claiming that the Supreme Court did not have any jurisdiction in this
“purely military” affair.

375 On January 7, 1946, the Supreme Court had heard Frank Witherspoon‟s appeal,
and on February 4 it rendered its opinion. Despite a scathing dissent … the Court
declined to intervene in the case. … “not concerned with the guilt or innocence” ... since
the war would not be officially over until formal peace documents were signed,
MacArthur still retained the power to convene a military commission “so long as a state
of war exists.” [surrendered 9-02-45!]

375 From the Supreme Court dissenting opinion: “No military necessity or other
emergency demanded suspension of the safeguards of due process. Yet General
Yamashita was rushed to trial under an improper charge, given insufficient time to
prepare an adequate defense, deprived of the benefits of the most elementary rules of
evidence, and summarily sentenced to be hanged. In all this needless and unseemly haste
there was no serious attempt to prove that he committed a recognized violation of the
rules of war. He was not charged with personally participating in the acts of atrocity, or
with ordering or condoning their commission. Not even knowledge of these crimes was
attributed to him. This indictment in effect permitted the military commission to make
the crime whatever it willed. Such a procedure is unworthy of our people”

...
380 “Respect. For one another. For oneself. Is there anything more important to
leave behind? I don‟t think so. … Because respect is more important than life. … That is
why MacArthur did this. To destroy my respect. Is it not?” [Yamashita]

383 … in the end I lacked what Koichi Kido called majime, the wisdom and courage
to eliminate any distinctions between my actions and my inner thoughts. One was not
born with majime. He gained it through years of thought and struggle.

310 The spoils of a just war, a war fought on behalf of tolerance and human decency,
did not give anyone the right to murder a great man for reasons of political expedience
and personal jealousy.

106 I found myself awash with a sense of injustice that I could not define. Or perhaps
it was merely that I was young. I had never seen with such clarity that … courage could
destroy one man while flight could make another man king.

...

309 Who had I become? …. A cute-mouthed monkey boy, neither serene nor
engaged, who had simply become accepting. … Sam Genius and Frank Witherspoon
were standing for something. And I had come to stand for nothing.

399 I knew it was fruitless at this point but still I felt a call for justice, an anger that
life does not always reward the right intentions, that the cycles of days and years and
seasons lull us into thinking that in all things there will be second chances, and even
thirds, when in some things we have only one. And sometimes we never know we had
that single chance until it disappears.

400 Waray, waray. You remember, even after all these years! Yes, that is the way of
our people. To the last drop of blood. To the last breath of air. To the last beating of the
heart. That is how we fight. That is how we pray. That is how we love.