EDITORIALS : Heroes deserve better
Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007
What did they know
and when did they
know it ? Where the misrepresentation of Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s death is concerned, the answer to that question is key. It can mean the difference between officials having unintentionally spread misinformation — and having created what Tillman’s brother and fellow Ranger Kevin Tillman has called “ intentional falsehoods. ” The same is true of how the trials of Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch have been described to the American people. Lynch, hailed as a hero after being captured in Iraq, this week told Congress that her actions had been misrepresented. “ The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes, and they don’t need to be told elaborate lies, ” she said. When we say that question — What did they know and when did they know it ? — can make a difference, we mean it can make a difference when judging whether the president and other high-ranking government officials, for political ends, misled Americans about these soldiers’ actions. That those actions have been intentionally misrepresented by some people, somewhere along the chain of command, seems indisputable at this point. Americans were initially told that Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire, died in combat with the enemy. Only months after those initial reports did the truth begin to leak out.
Lynch was portrayed as having battled enemy troops prior to her capture. In reality, Lynch told Congress, she never fired a shot. The story of the “ little girl Rambo … ” was a fabrication, Lynch said.
The House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform is currently looking into who knew what — and when they knew it — in relation to Tillman’s death and Lynch’s service. Here’s hoping the committee finds the answers its looking for, no matter how far up the chain of command their search leads them.
People have been misrepresenting the actions of soldiers for as long as wars have been fought. Constructing hero myths from the building blocks of everyday soldiering is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it right. These brave people deserve to have their lives — and their deaths — treated in an honest, above board fashion. Their families, as well, deserve to know the truth.
That’s the least this country and its political leaders owe these soldiers for their invaluable service.
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