When Gen. McChrystal resigned his position recently, the stories I read about it all said that he was one of those involved in the Pat Tillman cover-up.

The implication was that something sinister was at work in that matter. Was something sinister at work? No, not at all.

The facts of Tillman’s death were altered not to absolve anyone of responsibility. The deception was to spare a grieving family and also to spare a grieving nation. Tillman was dead; nothing could be done to change that fact. The strategy to alter the circumstances of his death was ill-conceived but was permitted with the purest of intentions. I firmly believe that.

Perhaps that makes me unusual. I don’t know. Such is the level of criticism nowadays.

It’s been said that soldiers fight not for democratic ideals or even country. They fight for one another. I don’t doubt it for a minute. Once the bombs start falling and bullets start flying, noble causes take a backseat to basic survival.

Yet when it comes to joining up in the first place, the reason for that is country. Pat Tillman, the football star turned Army Ranger, didn’t know the soldiers he’d be serving with in Afghanistan. He enlisted following the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11 because he wanted to fight back against those who perpetrated the attack.

Tillman joining the war effort was in a real sense just like all those Americans who joined up following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

We know the story of course. Tillman met his end in Afghanistan as the result of friendly fire. I’m certain of one fact only. No one feels worse about the accident (and that’s what it was) than the soldiers with Tillman that day.

To us, he was a fellow countryman. To his unit, he was more. He was a buddy. No investigation by Congress or the Army can take away their pain or his family’s pain. Those who go off to war do so out of a sense of patriotism and pride first and foremost. You cannot go into harm’s way otherwise. It’s just not worth it.

Pat Tillman was a star athlete. He had fame and fortune most can only dream about. He set all that aside to go to war in Afghanistan.

How he died, the circumstances behind his death, does nothing to detract from his commitment to his country.

How he lived, including his enlistment during wartime, his service in Afghanistan and his dedication to his unit and to his country mean everything.

Robert Peele

Rocky Mount