The military said officers knew within hours that his death was from friendly fire but violated regulations by not telling Tillman’s family or the public for five weeks. He was serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment when he was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. It was a celebrated moment when Pat Tillman turned down an NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after the Sept. Some examples of friendly fire incidents in recent history: “War is a very human endeavor, and mistakes inevitably will occur,” says Mansoor. Peter Mansoor, a professor of military history at Ohio State University. Today, the basic challenge remains the same: distinguishing between friend and foe.īetter training and the precision of modern weapons have helped to reduce fratricide but can’t completely eliminate the risk, says retired Army Col. In Vietnam, helicopter gunships killed U.S. Lesley McNair died when an errant Allied bomb struck his position as the Allies struggled to break out from Normandy. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died of pneumonia eight days after being hit by friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.

At dusk on a foggy day, they apparently mistook each other for French forces, and at least 13 British troops were killed. George Washington got into a firefight with a fellow infantry unit that had arrived to offer assistance. In 1758, during the French and Indian War, a detachment of the British Army led by Col.

airstrike in Afghanistan stand as a fresh reminder of the dangers of friendly fire, an element of war that is older than the nation. WASHINGTON - The deaths of five Americans killed in a U.S.

Us air force drops tank in wrong place