The first two feelings that overcame me at the end of the new documentary The Tillman Story were heartbreak and rage.  Heartbreak was easy because it told the story of a remarkable man who did the unthinkable - thought about someone besides himself and did something he believed in.  What made the heartbreak even worse was spending an hour and a half with the people who loved him and miss him each and every day.  Pat Tillman was an amazing man largely because of where he came from and the family that adored him - his mother Mary, father Patrick, two brothers and a wife. 

The story of Pat Tillman is well-known but it's also a story that has been misconstrued at the hands of people who knew nothing about the man.  Tillman was a successful professional football player who gave up a multi-million dollar contract to help fight the war in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11.  He was killed in the line of duty two years into his deployment with the Army Rangers and that should have been the end of the story.  Instead the Bush administration decided to make a war hero out of him to help save their failing occupations of war in the Middle East.  Here begins the rage...

Unfortunately for them, their "official story" of Tillman's death didn't add up and through heartbreak and shear willpower Pat's mother and father fought to find out the truth about their son.  If you think being in a war and a defensive back in the National Football League is hard, try standing up to Washington D.C. for the truth.

While the Bush administration was desperately trying to use the Tillman story to their advantage during the 2004 Presidential election, they were also debasing Senator Kerry's military service as fraudulent.  The GOP with the help of the media questioned endlessly the worthiness of Kerry's Purple Hearts in Vietnam and tried to pin those honors instead on a man who was killed not by enemy fire but from friendly fire.  Tillman didn't even believe in the war he was stuck in - he thought the invasion of Iraq was illegal and didn't trust or even vote for Bush and Co.  He was there as an American - not a Republican poster boy.

The truth is still out on what really happened that day when Cpl. Tillman was killed.  It has been covered up so deeply that not even a grieving family can be told the truth.  One thing is for sure - they messed around with the wrong family.  That is what is great about this film.  It tells the true story of who Pat was and shows us the war that is still raging between his family and friends and the government.  Director Amir Bar-Lev has made a terrific film - his best yet.  It is powerful and insightful, loving and angry all at the same time.  Hopefully audiences will leave this film feeling much the way I did - heartbroken and pissed off. 

- David Malsch

A terrific companion piece to this film is the latest book from John Krakauer entitled "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman".  To learn more about Pat and to help get involved in his legacy go to pattillmanfoundation.org.

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