The good is oft interred with their bones

At last, after two years of family outrage (and public ignorance), there will be a new criminal inquiry into the death of Pat Tillman. Nobody disputes now that his body was riddled with friendly (American) bullets when he expired, and I still await a detailed synopsis of the hamfisted military strategy that led to his unit getting surprised and fired upon by comrades, for no apparent reason. But what surprises me -- a secret whispered rarely if ever during the news reports and investigation -- is this:

Interviews also show a side of Pat Tillman not widely known — a fiercely independent thinker who enlisted, fought and died in service to his country yet was critical of President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq, where he served a tour of duty. He was an avid reader whose interests ranged from history books on World War II and Winston Churchill to works of leftist Noam Chomsky, a favorite author.

Now, even I don't consider Noam Chomsky a favorite author, since his prose is invariably dead on its feet. How could an Arizona Cardinals safety dig the works of a celebrity lingusitics professor who is amputating the genitals of his own language? Tillman is probably the only Chomsky fan ever to sweat bullets in the crags of Khost. Sure, once you penetrate his wooden style, Chomsky does reflect a reality that the military propaganda machine avoids at all costs. Does the American military prohibit his works? Let's hope not, though my guess is the appearance of a Chomsky book in a combat situation may constitute grounds for treason.

Justice should be served not only for the manner of Tillman's death, but for the life of his mind, which was obviously more complex than anyone cared to think.