It is no dishonor to perish due to friendly fire, any more than it is to die of accident or disease, or from a stray bullet or mine that wasn't even intended for you. The sacrifice and the courage comes the moment you offer yourself up for service in a high-risk unit, especially in the case of a privileged man like Tillman. Death in wartime can be so random that the specific circumstances are essentially meaningless.

I believe two separate factors are at work here. First, the sincere desire of his comrades to have his family believe he died a meaningful and glorious death. This is a noble, if mistaken act. The other is the cynical desire of the military to manufacture a hero for propaganda reasons and to cover up what might have started out as an honest mistake. This is reprehensible and cynical. Which of these two factors plays the lead role here remains to be seen. Personally, I'd just as soon not know if it was the first, but I want full and complete exposure if it was the second.

As far as I'm concerned, no matter what turns out, Tillman died a hero and his family can be very proud of him.