WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - A Pentagon watchdog on Monday found fault with nine officers for investigations and incorrect accounts of the death of U.S. Army Ranger and former professional football star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

Army investigators found that Tillman, widely lauded as a hero for giving up the National Football League to join the Army, was killed by fellow U.S. soldiers who believed they were engaging enemy fighters on April 22, 2004.

The Army initially told Tillman's family he died from enemy fire and did not alter that account until a month later, despite knowing soon after his death that he was likely killed by fellow soldiers, the Pentagon's inspector general said.

The inspector general found three previous investigations into the death were deficient and that information provided to support the posthumous award of a Silver Star was incorrect.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren apologized to Tillman's family for the mistakes. He said the Silver Star would remain awarded to Tillman but the accompanying citation would be changed to reflect the true circumstances of his death.

"We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family," Geren told reporters. "We failed to live up to Army values."

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