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Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman | 
 enlarge | Author: Mary Tillman
Creator: Narda Zacchino
Publisher: Modern Times
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $10.38
You Save: $15.57 (60%)
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Rating:  14 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 1594868808
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332092
EAN: 9781594868801
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
On April 22, 2004, Lieutenant David Uthlaut received orders from Khost, Afghanistan, that his platoon was to leave the town of Magarah and "have boots on the ground before dark" in Manah, a small village on the border of Pakistan. It was an order the young lieutenant protested vehemently, but the commanders at the Tactical Command Center disregarded his objections. Uthlaut split his platoon into two serials, with serial one traveling northwest to Manah and serial two towing a broken Humvee north toward the Khost highway. By nightfall, Uthlaut and his radio operator were seriously wounded, and an Afghan militia soldier and a U.S. soldier were dead. The American soldier was my son, Pat Tillman. The Tillman family was originally informed that Pat, who had given up a professional football career to serve his country, had been shot in the head while getting out of a vehicle. At his memorial service twelve days later, they were told that he was killed while running up a hill in pursuit of the enemy. He was awarded a Silver Star for his courageous actions. A month and two days after his death, the family learned that Pat had been shot three times in the head by his own troops in a "friendly fire" incident. Seven months after Pat’s death, the Tillmans requested an investigation. Boots on the Ground by Dusk is a chronicle of their efforts to ascertain the true circumstances of Pat’s death and the reasons why the Army gave the family and the public a false story. Woven into the account are valuable and respectful memories of Pat Tillman as a son, brother, husband, friend, and teammate, in the hope that the reader will better comprehend what is really lost when our sons and daughters are killed or maimed in war. In the course of three and a half years, there have been six investigations, several inquiries, and two Congressional hearings. The Tillmans are still awaiting an outcome.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 An objective look at a mother's heartbreak and frustration October 31, 2008
Mary Tillman and her coauthor did their homework in writing this story of her son and the aftermath of his combat death in Afghanistan. She was as objective as anyone could expect a mother to be, and she deserves credit for the overwhelming amount of time and research devoted to finding answers. I listened to the audio book version from my perspective as a biographer and retired senior officer with 32 years in the U.S. Navy. The book impressed me on both counts.
The complex writing structure especially impressed me. The authors picked an excellent staring point--when the Tillmans learned Pat's death had been a fratricide. The book then goes forward on parallel tracks, alternating present tense to move the story forward and past tense to fill in the background. I enjoyed the layered flashbacks and the challenge of piecing together the story as I listened. The anecdotes are out of order but not confusing. For example, we read about Mary's brother learning of Pat's death and going to her house before we read about her being notified of the death. Pat's selection as a pro-ball player is the final segment to complete the story of his life. I liked this arrangement because it emphasized his military career over his football career.
The audio version is read by the author, which adds intimacy to the telling of the story, but her sweet, soft, slow voice quickly became boring. Because she never changed her tone, it was hard to tell when "I" referred to her or to a transcript she was reading.
My only complaint about the book was the excess of meaningless dialogue and details, such as listing all the names in every scene. Instead of saying "the boys and their father," for example, she would say, "Kevin, Pat, Richard, and Patrick." We heard every "Hello, how are you?--I'm fine," and we went through step-by-stop processes such as getting up in the morning and making coffee.
Although I don't for a minute believe Pat Tillman's death was a planned conspiracy, I have no difficulty in believing a cover-up was orchestrated for public relations purposes after his death. That's a sorry way to treat a family and the American public. I read through the reviews on Amazon.com to see if anyone disagreed with Mary's research or complained about her leaving out vital information. No one did. I hope she someday gets the answers she seeks.
 heartfelt September 7, 2008
the passages from the memorial services are alone worth the read, Pat Tillman was someone I had an enormous amount of respect for and his brother, Kevin and mother, carry his memory with respect and appropriate outrage.
The life and death of an American hero August 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book turned out to be something of a puzzlement to me. According to its title, it is intended as a "Tribute to Pat Tillman," and the early chapters certainly bear that title out. They document a mother's trials and tribulations as she confronts an entrenched military organization in her attempt to learn the truth about when, where, how, and why her son died in Afghanistan. But there are also frequent flashbacks to Pat's earlier days. In those chapters, Pat Tillman can be seen in his true essence as the son that every mother would dearly love to have. It is clear that Pat Tillman was an exceptionally fine young man who dearly loved his life, his mother, his family, and his country; and that Pat's mother dearly loved her son.
The latter half of the book, however, seems to deviate from this theme. Rather than continuing the "tribute" to Pat, amplified by such memories, it appears to document the author's frustration and anger as she struggles to determine who tried to cover-up the facts concerning his death, and at what levels of the military and/or the government it was authorized. I can't help but admire her for her efforts, but, to me at least, how and why her son died and who attempted to cover-up the facts and why are two different things. It is very easy to hypothesize any number of possible scenarios for either case, but as Mary Tillman and her family learned through this long and arduous process; chances are the truth will never be known; especially where it concerns those who instigated the cover-up and why they did it. I, for one, would very much like to know, but I don't consider that a tribute.
The facts concerning the events surrounding Pat Tillman's death, however, appear to be quite clear if one is willing to accept the on-sight investigation and the interviews performed by Captain Scott within twenty-four hours of the event. But, for some inexplicable reason, the Army seems unwilling to give them any credence. To me it is obvious that Pat Tillman's death was a tragic mistake set in motion by poor decisions and inexcusable negligence, but also contingent on a remarkable sequence of events, a change in any one of which might have altered the outcome. What if the humvee hadn't broken down? Or, the platoon hadn't been split? Or, the jinga truck had been able to negotiate the road to Tit? Or, if Serial-1 hadn't missed the turn-off to Manah and, therefore, was long gone? Or, if the firing vehicle's view hadn't been obstructed causing them to cease fire just as Tillman tossed his smoke grenade? Or, if Tillman had waited just a little bit longer to ensure that firing had ceased before stepping into the open?
I have often wondered why people write biographies of twenty-something actors and entertainers. What have they really accomplished? What does it matter? And, why should anyone care? Granted: Pat Tillman was a twenty-something when he died, but he is also an American hero and his life is over -- and it does matter. So I'm glad this book was written. It is unfortunate, however, that all the facts concerning his death will likely never be known.
Unable to put the book down August 14, 2008
This book was so good that I read it in just 2 days. It was so good that I was unable to put it down. I would recommend this book to everyone I know.
Mission Accomplished, Again July 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Mary Tillman has skillfully written a complex account of military and political blunder and deceit into which she expertly intermingles her own story and that of her family. The resulting narrative is personal, political and readable - all at the same time.
Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan over 500 American soldiers have died. Since George W. Bush invaded Iraq, in March of 2003, over 4100 have been killed and almost 4000 of those have died since the president's infamous declaration of "Mission Accomplished." Tillman's "Boots on the Ground By Dusk" is the beautifully written, but gut-wrenching story of one of those soldiers.
By this time, I suppose, there can be few Americans who do not understand the general outline of the Bush Administration's complex push for war in Iraq. That campaign, as it has been uncovered elsewhere, involved the deliberate use of distortion and misinformation ranging from unambiguous lies suggesting a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, to tales of the non-existent WMDs, to neocon assertions of an American democratizing mission in the middle east.
The larger-scale story of the Iraq war involves, among other things, the international repercussions of President Bush's attempt to assert American global hegemony in the 21st century. In stark contrast, this very personal book, written by the mother of pro-footballer-turned-soldier, Pat Tillman, is connected to that war at only the most basic level; that of the individual soldier. Nevertheless, as the book unfolds, it reveals a web of deception that matches the distortions at the international level. It is as if everyone connected to this administration's war effort is simply unable to tell the truth. It is as if dishonesty and manipulation have become part of their DNA.
The book begins with Mrs. Tillman's account of staring into a fire pit. She is sitting in front of her home, the home in which she raised her children, smoking, listening to the crackling logs, and thinking, "I light my cigarette wondering what I would do if I couldn't smoke, if I couldn't blow out my anger, frustration, and sense of crippling loss into the night." It is a stunning description of the isolation and helplessness that accompanies unbearable loss, but the book that follows is, in one sense, an answer to her question. When blowing out anger and loss "into the night" was no longer enough she would ask questions, investigate contradictions, and write.
In the earliest pages the reader is introduced to the extended Tillman family and how they become the people they are. They share ideas and debate issues. The attacks of 9/11 hit them hard and, in response, the two oldest sons, Pat and Kevin, decide to join the Army. It is not a popular decision. The youngest brother, Richard, reacts with anger, others are worried, and still others confused. Kevin is just about to leave a life in minor league baseball, but Pat will have to give up a promising career in pro football with the Arizona Cardinals. Pat and Kevin Tillman both become Army Rangers. On April 22, 2004 Pat is killed in Afghanistan.
Initially the family is presented a version of Pat's death that has him leading a charge up a hill. That story is soon contradicted by news (first heard from a reporter!) that Pat may have been killed by "friendly fire." The army then constructs an official version of death by fratricide, but as the reports come in they are full of contradiction and ambiguity. The family, led by the author, demands answers. After intensive investigation and vigorous questioning the official version of death by "friendly fire" is altered. As more reports are written and, as the family investigates each the story, the official version is altered again and again. Tillman convincingly demonstrates that none of the distortions are accidental. Even the narrative that accompanies Pat Tillman's posthumous silver star is shown to be deliberately false. Despite the fact that the story involves detailed descriptions of volumes of official reports and two congressional hearings the book reads like a good mystery with the reader anticipating the next twist, the next revelation.
Appropriately, it all begins with a quote from Charles A. Beard: "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." In Mary Tillman's examination of this very dark incident in her life and, by extension, her examination of this very dark stain on contemporary American leadership, she manages to reveal some real stars. A mother who does not give up. Family members able to support each other in horribly difficult times. And Pat Tillman, a man of honesty and honor, who deserved better treatment from his government. "Boots on the Ground By Dusk" is an important contribution to our understanding of what has become of us in an era of politics by propaganda, but it is also a wonderful story of a family dedicated to finding the truth no matter what.
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