Thats My Hero

Pat Tillman, Rachel Corrie and Yoni Netanyahu

Guy Montag, feralfirefighter.blogspot.com

June 20, 2010

Everywhere I look in this house, Im staggered by memories. I stay in the house to look at Pats books on
the shelves and appreciate his special keepsakes displayed in the dining room hutch. As Im looking at the
mementos, I find a small newspaper clipping Ive seen before. The article is about Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-
old peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on March 16,
2003, trying to protect the home of a Palestinian doctor and his family.

I remember picking up the article from the same spot more than a year ago [2003] and asking Pat, Whos
this? Thats my hero, Pat said. She was a stud; she had a lot of guts. I read the article with tears in my
eyes then; now, I quietly cry.
- - Mary Tillman Boots on the Ground by Dusk (2008)

...

" there is an inherent incompatibility in the joining together, in one evening, of a play [To Pay the Price]
based on my brother [Jonathan Netanyahu, killed during the 1976 Raid on Entebbe] Yoni's letters with the play
'My Name Is Rachel Corrie.
-- Iddo Netanyahu (May 2007)
 Thats My Hero
Pat Tillman, Rachel Corrie and Yoni Netanyahu

June 16, 2010

I wrote this letter in January 2009, shortly before Superbowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.
Ive slightly edited this letter for re-publication here.

Ive expanded upon my Superbowl comments in Barely a Footnote: Superbowl XLIII

and the NFLs Betrayal of Pat Tillman posted at feralfirefighter.blogspot.com.

If youre interested in digging dipper, Ive also posted several other documents about
both Pat Tillman and the bi-partisan whitewash of those responsible for the cover-up of
Pat Tillmans friendly-fire death.

The Corrie familys civil lawsuit against the IDF for Rachels death is currently
proceeding in Israel (Im not holding my breath to see justice served there).

The ship MV Rachel Corrie was seized by Israel on June 5th as it tried to sail to Gaza.

Guy Montag
...

January 30, 2009

Dear Joe Bageant,

In your November 20, 2008 essay, The Sucker Bait Called Hope, you wrote that the US
media all but ignored the death of Rachel Corrie under an Israel bulldozer and that the
few who knew of her death largely deemed it a bizarre and senseless act; Moral
conviction scares the hell out of us. Hope is effortless.

Rachel Corrie lived her life with integrity. As you wrote in your essay, she had
Conviction. The real stuff. Accepting the truth and acting on it. taking personal
responsibility, but doing it for real.

Last year, Rachels family edited her journal entries and letters in the book, Let Me
Stand Alone. From her journal:

My values. Responsibility for myself accountability Independence

/Autonomy. Honesty. Humor. Integrity. Courage. Loyalty. Critical thinking.
Curiosity. Family.
I think you might be interested to learn that Rachel Corrie was Pat Tillmans hero. Pat
shared many of Rachels values. He was driven by a core of honesty and integrity, led
by personal example, and lived his life intensely.

In her book, Boots on the Ground by Dusk, his mother Mary Tillman wrote about Pats
admiration for Rachel:

I feel dread mount in my stomach as we turn the corner to the charming house
[near Tacoma, WA] where Pat lived with Marie [wife] and Kevin [brother]. Pat
had loved that house, situated on a hill overlooking the Tacoma Narrows, with a
majestic view of the Olympic Mountains. I immediately glance at the spot where
I last saw Pat standing, less than three months.

Everywhere I look in this house, Im staggered by memories. I see Pat in every

corner and doorway. I stay in the house to look at Pats books on the shelves
and appreciate his special keepsakes displayed in the dining room hutch.

As Im looking at the mementos, I find a small newspaper clipping Ive seen

before. The article is about Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old peace activist from
Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on March
16, 2003, trying to protect the home of a Palestinian doctor and his family.

I remember picking up the article from the same spot more than a year ago [in
2003] and asking Pat, Whos this? Thats my hero, Pat said. She was a
stud; she had a lot of guts. I read the article with tears in my eyes then; now, I
quietly cry.
...

Pat Tillman was the Arizona Cardinals NFL football player who joined the Army
Rangers and was killed in Afghanistan in April 2004 by friendly fire. Five years ago, I
thought Pat Tillman was a patriotic dumb jock. I refused to watch any of the flag
waving coverage of his memorial service. It seemed a sideshow distraction to the Abu
Gharib story.

Later, I discovered the reality of Pat was much deeper than his iconic image. In October
2005, I read David Zirins article, Pat Tillman - Our Hero. I discovered a side of Pat
Tillman not widely known a fiercely independent thinker, avid reader (a favorite author
was Noam Chomsky), and critic of the Bush administration and the Iraq war (this war
is so fucking illegal).

Kevin Tillman, Pats brother, joined the Army with Pat. The brothers served together in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Kevin has largely remained silent since Pats death. However,
in October 2006 he posted a beautiful letter, After Pats Birthday, on Truthdig.com
(largely ignored by the media). His short essay should be read in its entirety, but heres
an excerpt to give you a bit of its flavor:
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 dont 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.

Im still angry that the truth about Pats life and death has been buried by the media and
government. Tillman was enshrined as an icon while the man fell by the wayside, his
parents used as props at his funeral. The truth may be painful, but its the truth, his
mother said. If you feel youre being lied to, you can never put it to rest. The cover-up
of the cover-up of his death (by both Republicans and Democrats) continues to this day
despite multiple investigations by the Army, Defense Department and Congress.

...

During his 2004 re-election campaign, President Bush addressed Arizona Cardinal fans
on the Jumbotron during an emotional halftime ceremony in which the Arizona franchise
retired Tillman's jersey number. But today, on the eve of the Superbowl with Pats team
(the Arizona Cardinals) playing the Steelers, Pat Tillman is barely a footnote. Old news.
A bit troublesome for the media to touch upon. Best ignored.

Note: for more details see my Barely a Footnote: Superbowl XLIII and the NFLs
Betrayal of Pat Tillman at feralfirefighter.blogspot.com

As Bill Plaschke wrote in his recent column, Pat Tillmans Friend Hasnt Forgotten
Him:
This is a story not only about a missing tag [Tillman dogtag given to a
teammate], but a missing legacy. The Super Bowl is here, but any mention of the
most nationally beloved alumnus of either team is not. Pat Tillman played for the
Arizona Cardinals from 1998 through 2001, yet, as you watch the Cardinals play
the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, you might never know it.

The NFL loves to wrap itself in the flag, yet the league has no plans to remember
him. The Cardinals have a statue and reflecting pool dedicated to Tillman outside
their stadium, but nothing on their jerseys. An NFL spokesman said there may be
something about Tillman on the NBC television broadcast, but there were no
guarantees.

I just think there's some missed opportunities there," said Walz, a linebacker
who was Tillman's training camp and road roommate during their four-year
Cardinals career. Given what Pat represented, you would think they would do
something.
Personally, Im not holding my breath waiting for action by the NFL. During David
Zirins interview with Mary Tillman last year The NFLs Tillman Offense, 6/08/09)
she criticized the NFL:
 I think they [the NFL] haven't gone out of their way to help; they've exploited
Pat, just like the military. I do believe that. I mean, they have a beautiful statue to
him at Cardinal Stadium. I don't know if that's more for us or him; I feel like it's
more for them. It's sad for me to say that, but I think it's true. They haven't really
helped to try to find out what happened to Pat. You know, this is a young man
who was quite unique. He was trying to do the right thing and it would be the
right thing to try and find out what happened to him.
But there has been no effort to find out. You know, and the fact that players
who played with him wanted to wear his number--they wouldn't let them do that.
It's a minor thing I suppose, but at the same time I think it's kind of telling. It's
like, "Okay, we had the jersey dedication, we did this, let's move on." I think that
speaks a lot.
We should honor Pat Tillmans memory by honoring the man, not the myth. The
iconoclast, not the icon. As his mother said, Pat would have wanted to be remembered
as an individual, not as a stock figure or political prop. Pat was a real hero, not what they
used him as.
...

Finally, Id like to point out a connection between Rachel Corrie, Pat Tillman, and
Jonathan Yoni Netanyahu [his younger brother is Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the
Likud party and former Prime Minister of Israel]. This seems timely coming on the tail
of the invasion of the Gaza Ghetto this past month.

Yoni has been a hero of mine for decades (Yoni was shot and killed while leading the
rescue of Israeli hostages at the Entebbe airport in 1976.). After his death, his family
published a book of his letters Self-Portrait of a Hero (comparable to Let Me Stand
Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie). I bought the book a quarter century ago when I
was a young and dumb paratrooper.

But, like Pat Tillmans friendly-fire death, the nature of Yonis death has been covered up
the IDF for the past four decades [see Battle for the Truth at
feralfirefighter.blogspot.com]

Yoni and Pat Tillman were eerily similar characters, both driven by a sense of integrity,
honesty and conviction. As was Rachel Corrie. The following passage from Self
Portrait of a Hero could be said about all three of them:

Of all the aspects of his character one predominates integrity. By this we do

not mean only honesty toward ones fellow man, but, above all, honesty toward
oneself. An inner wholeness marked Yonis entire behavior, inspired his way of
life and determined his objectives. That wholeness resulted from a great need for
absolute harmony between his thoughts and deeds.

For Yoni, unlike many of us, could not hold beliefs without living them to the
full. Once convinced of the rightness of an idea, whether in the personal or
national sphere, he had to do what he could to actualize it, regardless of the
 hardships or risks involved. Again and again he asked himself whether he was
working toward the realization of his lifes aims.

Its ironic (and a bit sad to me) that while Rachel was a hero to Pat Tillman, she is viewed
with contempt by Yonis family. The play "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" is based on her
e-mails, letters, and journals. Another play, "To Pay the Price," draws on letters and
interviews with family and friends of Jonathan Yoni Netanyahu, a hero in Israel.

Two years ago, the Netanyahu family forced the Watertowns Repertory theatre to cancel
a planned run of To Pay the Price because it was to have been paired with My Name
is Rachel Corrie. Iddo Netanyahu, Yonis youngest brother, said that he feels "that
there is an inherent incompatibility in the joining together, in one evening, of a play
based on my brother Yoni's letters with the play 'My Name Is Rachel Corrie.

...

I hope youve found this letter to be of interest. If youd like to learn more, you can read
the articles referenced in my letter in Appendices below

Sincerely,

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

P.S.

Obviously, Ive taken the cover-up of Pat Tillmans death a bit personally. I feel a sense
of kinship with Pat Tillman. In 1983, when I was seventeen, young and dumb, I
enlisted with an Airborne Ranger Long-Range Recon Patrol (LRRP) company. I grew up
in the Army, enjoyed the camaraderie and the challenges. But, the lies of the first Gulf
War were the last straw. After eight years, I finally left the Army in March 1991, and
have spent the last 18 years as a firefighter. A more socially useful occupation than being
an enforcer for the powers-that-be.

APPENDICES:
From The Sucker Bait Called Hope Joe Bageant, November 20. 2008

From Let Me Stand Alone Rachel Corrie 2008

From Boots on the Ground By Dusk Mary Tillman, 2008

After Pats Birthday Kevin Tillman October 19, 2006

Pat Tillman, Our Hero David Zirin October 6, 2005

Remember His Name Gary Smith September 11, 2006

The Sucker Bait Called Hope

Joe Bageant November 20. 2008

But the fact is that when we encounter in-the-flesh examples of any merciful movement
-- even through television -- we blanch and erect a wall of denial and excuses for our
refusal to support that thing. Consider how the American public and the media (is there a
difference?) responded to Rachel Corrie, who willingly died under the Israeli bulldozer
protecting the home of a non-partisan Palestinian village doctor. The U.S. media all but
ignored her. What few of the public knew of Cory's sacrifice were at first nonplussed,
then deemed it a bizarre and stupid act. But even most Americans who did know joined
the Larry Kings of the world in backhandedly mocking her. Moral conviction scares the
hell out of us. Hope is effortless.
That takes conviction. The real stuff. And as long as we are still breathing and
passing water, choice remains available, even superior choice: Accepting the truth and
acting upon it. We can remember and contemplate the example of Rachel Cory. Or
even follow that dogged neocon mantra of "taking personal responsibility," but doing it
for real. All of which can be considered voting for the spirit.

Let Me Stand Alone

The Journals of Rachel Corrie

(Edited by the Corrie Family, 2008)

227 My values. My values. My values.

Responsibility for myself accountability.

Independence /Autonomy.

Honesty.
Humor.
Integrity.
Courage.
Loyalty.
Critical thinking.
Curiosity.

Family

Equity/Justice/Fairness
Boots on the Ground By Dusk
My Tribute to Pat Tillman

(Mary Tillman, 2008)

66 I feel dread mount in my stomach as we turn the corner to the charming house
[near Tacoma, WA] where Pat lived with Marie [wife] and Kevin [brother]. Pat had
loved that house, situated on a hill overlooking the Tacoma Narrows, with a majestic
view of the Olympic Mountains. I immediately glance at the spot where I last saw Pat
standing, less than three months ago

67 Everywhere I look in this house, Im staggered by memories. I see Pat in every

corner and doorway. I stay in the house to look at Pats books on the shelves and
appreciate his special keepsakes displayed in the dining room hutch. As Im looking at
the mementos, I find a small newspaper clipping Ive seen before. The article is about
Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was
crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on March 16, 2003, trying to protect the home of
a Palestinian doctor and his family. I remember picking up the article from the same spot
more than a year ago [in 2003] and asking Pat, Whos this? Thats my hero, Pat said.
She was a stud; she had a lot of guts. I read the article with tears in my eyes then; now,
I quietly cry.