"In some ways, he was like me. He loved poetry. He dug Emerson. He read books, and loved to talk about them. He never talked football with me. He was not egotistical, not at all. But he did attract attention, because he had this magnetic personality," Baer recalls.
Tillman liked to seek out guys in the unit who had distinct personalities. One (whose last name Baer can't remember) was from Philadelphia.
"There was this kid Kevin, everybody called him 'Squeak' because he had a voice like a kazoo. He was a white kid who dressed like a black kid, was into rap. Most of the squad leaders and platoon leaders are these corn-fed Nebraska guys who love country music and George W., and of course they thought [Squeak] was a weirdo. But Pat loved him, because he was a unique character. If Pat liked someone, he'd say 'that guy is money.' And to him, Squeak was money."
Baer, an eyewitness to Tillman's shooting and some of the investigative irregularities that followed, is quoted extensively in the Amir Bar-Lev documentary.
The movie implies that Tillman was killed by panicked members of his own unit who were firing at nothing, perhaps startled by an accidental weapons discharge, but Baer said there is no doubt the Rangers were under enemy fire.
The Rangers were in two groups split by a steep ridge when the shooting started. Tillman led the charge up the mountain to get sight lines on the embattled group behind him, and encountered fire most of the way. This was long before, Baer said, the other Rangers were in range or in view. When the trailing Rangers, mounted in an armored vehicle, finally approached, they mistook Tillman (standing next to an Afghan army soldier) for the enemy, and opened fire.
Baer said most of the soldiers (including Tillman) survived the initial barrage, and, thinking they had finally been recognized, stood up and waved their arms.
