The NBC News anchor Brian Williams apologized Wednesday for mistakenly claiming he had been on a helicopter that was shot down by ground fire in Iraq in 2003.
Last week, NBC Nightly News filmed Mr. Williams taking a soldier to a New York Rangers game. The public address announcer at the game explained to the crowd that “U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak was responsible for the safety of Brian Williams and his NBC News team after their Chinook helicopter was hit and crippled by enemy fire” during the invasion of Iraq.
Mr. Terpak received a standing ovation, and, on Facebook, where NBC posted a video of the story, Mr. Williams was also praised. But one commenter cast doubt on the story, which Mr. Williams also told in vivid and specific detail to David Letterman in 2013.
“Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft,” wrote Lance Reynolds on Facebook. “I do remember you walking up about an hour after we had landed to ask me what had happened.”
“You are absolutely right and I was wrong,” [Williams] wrote, adding that he had in fact been on the helicopter behind the one that had been hit. Constant viewing of the video showing him inspecting the impact area, he said, “and the fog of memory over 12 years — made me conflate the two, and I apologize….This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and by extension our brave military men and women veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not,” Mr. Williams said.
The fog of memory over 12 years? Is that sort of like the fog of war? Sorry, but whether or not you were in a helicopter that got shot down is the kind of thing you tend not to forget. Even after twelve years.
And you have to love the way Williams passes off his mistake as an attempt to thank our brave military men and women veterans everywhere. (In other words, if you don't accept his explanation, you're not honoring the service of our brave vets.)
Sorry dude, nice try.
For those of you smart enough to have never listened to Williams on NBC, rest assured that he brings that same honesty and objectivity to his reporting.
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6 comments:
Does make one wonder about his character...to boldly lie about an incident and then his apology implied he was following the copter which was attacked
"I was instead in a following aircraft. . . . This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran "
what bullshit, his apology contains another lie . he was nowhere near the aircraft when it was shot, he came to the scene an hour later.
Reminds of the story Hilary clinton fabricated a few years ago, claiming she was under attack. Hillary Clinton said she made a mistake when she claimed she had come under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996 while she was first lady.
I suppose these elitists are so used to lying and distorted the facts , since they usually get away with it. Maybe Hillary will start trading cattle futures again
Jova --
It's amazing what they're allowed to get away with. If this had been someone on Fox lying this way, there would have been nonstop coverage of it and crowing about it by all the rest of the media. The comedians would have made hay of it, and the chortling would have continued for days.
I remember HIllary's claim that she came under fire at that airport. A tape of that episode was later produced, and it showed her and some other functionaries in some calm ceremonial function. But we expect that from the Clintons. I hadn't realized Brian Williams was cut from the same cloth.
But, I guess that's why they call it NBC.
Honest or no, I'd still hit the daughter.
That is the upside of not being famous. You can embellish stories and never get called on it.
Jokah --
Hadn't even realized he had a daughter, just looked her up…..I don't blame you.
I suppose that's true, but I get the impression that the famous have a more pronounced tendency to be con artists and to embellish their pasts.
I can't imagine how you would "confuse" being in an aircraft that was hit by hostile fire and one which was following it. Obviously, that has never happened to me. I have close friends who are pilots and they tell me they remember VIVIDLY every engine hiccup that ever happened to them even decades after the fact.
Luke --
Exactly.
I just put up another post about Williams, based on a new set of lies which emerged this morning. I have to admit, I'm really enjoying this.
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