'Even lying in his apology’: Brian Williams slammed after recanting personal story about RPG attack in Iraq

https://twitter.com/FirstTeamTommy/status/563099623150342144

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has over the years repeated a story that, while reporting in Iraq in 2003, he was aboard a helicopter that came under RPG fire.

Williams has recanted after personnel who were on the helicopter that was attacked didn’t remember seeing Williams there:

BREAKING: After soldiers protest, @NBCNews’s Brian Williams recants Iraq story http://t.co/qLSsF4q5qT pic.twitter.com/awIgXlNWiX

— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) February 4, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: NBC’s Brian Williams recants Iraq RPG story after soldiers protest http://t.co/8tL8vY7tMA

— Travis J. Tritten (@Travis_Tritten) February 4, 2015

Williams addressed his apology directly to the men on FB — he said "I have no desire to fictionalize my experience" http://t.co/HdGG1TBt3f

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/TheHumungus5309/status/563103117588570113

From Stars and Stripes:

The admission came after crew members on the 159th Aviation Regiment’s Chinook that was hit by two rockets and small arms fire told Stars and Stripes that the NBC anchor was nowhere near that aircraft or two other Chinooks flying in the formation that took fire. Williams arrived in the area about an hour later on another helicopter after the other three had made an emergency landing, the crew members said.

“I would not have chosen to make this mistake,” Williams said. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”

Williams’ version of the story was told as recently as a NY Rangers hockey game Friday:

Williams admitted “misremembering” what happened that day in Iraq in a Facebook comment:

To Joseph, Lance, Jonathan, Pate, Michael and all those who have posted: You are absolutely right and I was wrong. In fact, I spent much of the weekend thinking I’d gone crazy. I feel terrible about making this mistake, especially since I found my OWN WRITING about the incident from back in ’08, and I was indeed on the Chinook behind the bird that took the RPG in the tail housing just above the ramp. Because I have no desire to fictionalize my experience (we all saw it happened the first time) and no need to dramatize events as they actually happened, I think the constant viewing of the video showing us inspecting the impact area — and the fog of memory over 12 years — made me conflate the two, and I apologize. I certainly remember the armored mech platoon, meeting Capt. Eric Nye and of course Tim Terpak. Shortly after they arrived, so did the Orange Crush sandstorm, making virtually all outdoor functions impossible. I honestly don’t remember which of the three choppers Gen. Downing and I slept in, but we spent two nights on the stowable web bench seats in one of the three birds. Later in the invasion when Gen. Downing and I reached Baghdad, I remember searching the parade grounds for Tim’s Bradley to no avail. My attempt to pay tribute to CSM Terpak was to honor his 23+ years in service to our nation, and it had been 12 years since I saw him. The ultimate irony is: In writing up the synopsis of the 2 nights and 3 days I spent with him in the desert, I managed to switch aircraft. Nobody’s trying to steal anyone’s valor. Quite the contrary: I was and remain a civilian journalist covering the stories of those who volunteered for duty. This was simply an attempt to thank Tim, our military and Veterans everywhere — those who have served while I did not.

Tweeters blasted Williams’ explanation, with some noting that even the apology is “bogus”:

I wonder if Brian Williams and Hillary Clinton ever get together and swap stories about the times they've been in the shit.

— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) February 4, 2015

@starsandstripes @NBCNews @DrewMTips Holy shit. How do you “misremember” being in a helo hit by an RPG?

— The H2 (@TheH2) February 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/chuney5/status/563095215205285889

Trust @NBCNews….you know, the organization that lies about its employees being shot at.

— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) February 4, 2015

@seanagnew He's even lying in his apology. He makes it sound like he witnessed the shooting. He didn't. https://t.co/oBXIXpXWlI

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 4, 2015

He's not even conflating aircraft.. He was nowhere near the actual incident. pic.twitter.com/hosghTAkO3

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 4, 2015

Apology is even bogus. He wasn't in the Chinook. He was a full hour behind the actual incident pic.twitter.com/cy7oCM8ycS

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 4, 2015

Williams also used this story while reporting on the deaths of 7 troops (via @sqwerin) pic.twitter.com/1Qe4Pd1oEO

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 4, 2015

And now, NBC Nighty News with your hosts, Brian Williams and Baron Munchausen.

— John Hayward (@Doc_0) February 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/563098594824425477

Brian Williams wasn't aboard a chopper hit by an RPG as previously claimed, but was with Hillary dodging sniper fire on a Bosnian tarmac.

— Razor (@hale_razor) February 4, 2015

So what Brian Williams meant by "I was in a chinook hit by an RPG" was that he actually wasn't lol shit happens right http://t.co/d3onrhdWhn

— Alexander Kaufman (@AlexCKaufman) February 4, 2015

He "misremembered." MT @romenesko: Brian Williams now admits he wasn't aboard helicopter hit by RPG fire in 2003. http://t.co/CHJcobydmb

— John Russell (@JohnRussell99) February 4, 2015

"You know, turns out I wasn't aboard United 93 on 9/11 after all. So weird." –@bwilliams, basically

— Matthew DesOrmeaux ⚜ (@authoridad) February 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/563097949438496769
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/563097730235789314

The man who shot down Brian Williams' helicopter reportedly shouted "what's the frequency Kenneth?!"

— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) February 4, 2015

@AceofSpadesHQ @BWilliams
Yeah, he remembered* being rescued, surrounded & kept alive by the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry.
Vivid memory FAIL.

— ⇜Vapid↭Echo⇝ (@VapidEcho) February 4, 2015

boy when @BWilliams misremembers something, he misremembers the living shit out of it, huh? @Potamoose @BWilliams

— Ursus, Director of Weather and Banana Programming (@AceofSpadesHQ) February 4, 2015

Will Williams issue an on-air apology and full explanation to correct the record? Place your bets: