The mother of an American war hero who was posthumously awarded both the Silver Star and the Purple Heart in Iraq and Afghanistan is appalled that Prince Harry is receiving an honor in her son’s name.
Harry has been nominated for the Pat Tillman Award for Service by ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) and will receive the award at a glamorous ceremony in Los Angeles on July 11.
His alleged qualifications are his brief wartime performance – he was an experienced Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan – and his role in creating the Invictus Games for injured veterans and military personnel.
The award honors Pat Tillman, whose mother Mary said she was not consulted.
She is not impressed and asks why he was chosen over more deserving candidates: “I am shocked why they would choose such a controversial and polarizing person to win the award when there are far more suitable winners,” she says.
And she is not alone.
Mary Tillman speaks for countless others since the internet around the world was flooded with comments condemning the decision.
Everyone is horrified, not only that Harry has been given such a high honor, but also that he has the nerve to accept it.
A British veteran who served for 40 years posted on X that he was “angry.”
To understand why there is so much anger, it is helpful to compare Pat Tillman and Harry’s attitudes toward fame, fortune, and duty.
In 2002, eight months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the star football player gave up a $3.6 million NFL contract to fight for his country.
He joined the army and made the ultimate sacrifice: he died in Afghanistan in 2004 at the age of only 27.
Harry may have fought for his country, but he gave it up and his duties as a member of the royal family to pursue a life of money and opportunity in California because of his title.
He then turned his weapons against the monarchy – in this interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix series and in his memoirs “Spare”.
And all of this just so he could make money.
Many have pointed out, including some of the 30,000 or so (and counting) Americans who signed a petition protesting Harry’s award of the prize, that Tillman gave up money and fame for honor and duty, while Harry gave up honor and duty for money and fame.
Only a few members of his family were spared from his attacks after he left these shores.
He and Meghan did not hold back as they alternately accused the royal family of racism, tyranny and snobbery, as well as of being negligent in caring for him and his emotionally fragile wife.
Even the Queen and Prince Philip were not spared the consequences and were no doubt devastated to see the young couple exploiting Harry’s privileged position to undermine the institution of the monarchy.
Tillman’s mother summed it up when she argued why Harry was not a worthy recipient of the award honoring her son’s legacy: “There are people in the veterans community who do amazing things to help veterans… who do not have the money, the resources, the connections and the privileges that Prince Harry has.”
But the Sussexes do not seem to be aware of the sensitivity of this issue.
A statement on the company’s official website said Prince Harry was one of the “esteemed recipients” of the ESPY awards, which “recognize extraordinary individuals who demonstrate exemplary courage, perseverance and service.”
Pass me the vomit bag!
It seems to me that Harry and Meghan are so desperate for recognition and so eager to showcase their humanitarian virtues that they appear at every opportunity where they can be praised and awarded prizes, no matter how undeserved.
In 2022, the Sussexes accepted the Ripple of Hope Award from the human rights organization Robert F. Kennedy, which is given to people who “demonstrate an unwavering commitment to social change and are committed to protecting and promoting equality, justice and human rights.”
A few days later, her Netflix series about Harry and Meghan started, in which she sharply attacked the royals – that’s what you call justice and human rights!
In January, helicopter pilot Harry was absurdly inducted into the Hall of Living Legends of Aviation at an event hosted by actor and pilot of his own private jet, John Travolta.
In 2021, the “enlightened” couple were hailed as “environmental role models” by British charity Population Matters for making the heroic decision to have only two children, thereby reducing their impact on the earth.
All this boastful smugness!
It has not gone unnoticed that the ESPY ceremony in LA where Harry will receive this award will be hosted and broadcast by Meghan’s best friend, tennis legend Serena Williams.
Will she or Harry or anyone else explain the true story of how the Invictus Games began?
Don’t hold your breath.
Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole says Harry’s idea for the Games would never have come to fruition without the full support of his father Charles, brother William and sister-in-law Kate.
Harry is a pygmy who rides on the shoulders of giants. But this time, Mary Tillman, the mother of a real giant, has challenged him.