NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday that he lied about being onboard a helicopter that was hit by rocket fire during the Iraq War in 2003.
He told Stars and Stripes that he must have "misremembered" the story which was countlessly repeated on network news stations over the years.
"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."
He said that he "made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," adding, "I want to apologize."
Williams even repeated the claim just this past Friday during NBC's coverage of a New York Rangers tribute hockey game for a retired soldier.
But crew members who were on the 159th Aviation Regiment's Chinook that was hit by rockets began questioning the accuracy of Williams' story, eventually forcing his admission.
Flight engineer Lance Reynolds, who was on the Chinook that was hit, responded to Williams' claims on Facebook, saying, "Sorry dude, I don't remember you being on my aircraft. I do remember you walking up about an hour after we had landed to ask me what had happened."
"It was something personal for us that was kind of life-changing for me," Reynolds added. "I've know how lucky I was to survive it. It felt like a personal experience that someone else wanted to participate in and didn't deserve to participate in."
The damaged helicopter's door gunner, Mike O'Keefe, told Stars and Strikes that Williams' invented story has bothered him for a long time.
"Over the years it faded," he said, "and then to see it last week it was - I can't believe he is still telling this false narrative."
Instead, they claim Williams was in a chopper about one hour behind the helicopter that was forced down by rocket fire. That Chinook was not fired on and eventually landed next to the damaged helicopter due to an oncoming sandstorm.
"We never came under direct enemy fire to the aircraft," flight engineer Sgt. 1st class Joseph Miller told Stars and Stripes.
Williams took to Facebook to issue a lengthy apology:
"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."
