Pat Tillman Foundation, Run: Ex-Ranger Recalls Friendly Fire that Killed NFL Star

By Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
April 22, 2014Updated: July 18, 2015

Pat Tillman, a former NFL star who enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Ranger, died 10 years ago on April 22. One of the soldiers with Tillman when he was killed talked about the incident on Tuesday.

“We’d all been firing our weapons at various positions, up to that point, effectively enemy positions,” ex-Ranger Steven Elliot told NPR. “The sun had been set for roughly 20 minutes, so the lighting conditions were poor to say the least.”

He said that on the night when Tillman was killed, he could only spot “shadowy figures” in the distance. Another squad leader, Sgt. Greg Baker, opened fire on Tillman’s position, killing him.

“I remember thinking for just a second or two, but what felt like longer — your perception of time in the midst of a firefight can be distorted — that if he’d fired, and without any other information to indicate a friendly position, that I should also fire,” Elliot said.

Since he was killed, the Pat Tillman Foundation was set up and a run is slated for April 26 in his name.