Army Ranger Pat Tillman is not a hero because of the way he died. He’s a hero because of the way he lived.

Tillman was a straight talker and hard-charger who turned down a multi-million dollar NFL contract to volunteer for the military after Sept. 11. He passed up fame and riches – when he didn’t have to – to serve his country in Afghanistan.

The military dishonored Tillman and his sacrifice by misleading the country, and perhaps worse his family, about the circumstances of his death. Even his brother Kevin, who was serving in the same unit in Afghanistan, wasn’t told the truth.

As the Washington Post reported Sunday and Monday, citing documents from the Army’s investigation of the death, Tillman was likely killed by so-called friendly fire, which was the result of poor decisions by his unit’s superior officer and the failure of men in his own outfit to properly identify whom and what they were shooting at.

Tillman died on April 22. For his self-sacrifice and commitment to a purpose greater than himself, he was held out as a symbol of what is great about the people of the United States. The story of his heroics contrasted remarkably with the abuses of detainees at Abu Ghraib, which had just become public with the publication of horrific pictures of torture.

Awarded the Silver Star posthumously, Tillman was hailed as a national hero. He deserves that praise. But the Pentagon and its fabricators have tarnished his memory.

In a democracy, the power of the government flows directly from the people. We understand that there might be times, for operational reasons, that the military or the government cannot be frank with the public or the media about what’s going on in a war zone. But to deliberately mislead the public – especially on a matter with no direct national security concerns in an attempt to win better public relations – is a travesty.

It’s not spin or good public relations. It’s lying.