An excerpt from USA TODAY:
It’s an unmitigated disaster for Brian Williams and NBC News.
The revelation that the NBC anchor had lied on air about being in a helicopter that was forced down after it was hit by enemy fire during the Iraq War is devastating.
It’s hard to see how Williams gets past this, and how he survives as the face of NBC News.
An anchor’s No. 1 requirement is that he or she has credibility. If we don’t believe what an anchor tells us, what’s the point?
It’s disturbing that Williams has told many different versions of this story over the years. In some he was in a helicopter that was hit by enemy fire. In some he was in one near the chopper that was hit.
This from a man whose word should be gospel to us?
And Williams hardly has helped himself with his tortured explanations about what has gone so terribly wrong.
After veterans writing on Facebook challenged his tale, which he told on air most recently last Friday, Williams responded on the social media site that he had indeed been in the helicopter behind the one that was hit. He continued: “I think the continued 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.”
What? He’s confused about whether he was in an aircraft that was forced down? I’m pretty sure that’s something you would remember, fog of memory or no fog of memory.
***
Well, what are your thoughts about Brian Williams? Is this just a simple case of misremembering the facts? Or was he deliberately trying to raise his profile as a news anchor?
On top of all that, it also reveals how little the man knows about small arms and weaponry. But that’s no surprise. After all, he works for the mainstream media.
It seems to be a very similar story that the ol’ hag Hillary Clinton, told to the public.
Wasn’t there a fellow ”news anchor” who tried, by lying to fix a presidential election? I think he now hosts a silly little interview show of music entertainers.
Wasn’t there a fellow ”news anchor” who tried, by lying to fix a presidential election? I think he now hosts a silly little interview show of music entertainers.
Well, I was late enough reading this story that I can report Brian Williams isn’t the “face of NBC” anymore.
He is now the backside of NBC/Universal/Comcast’s corporate torso… MSNBC.
I’m wondering precisely what he did to wind up there. Telling lies in part of a mainstream media journalist’s job description.
Peter Arnett made his career by creating the false story about “the city that was destroyed to save it” during the Vietnam War, and essentially left no fact undistorted during his career at CNN (he taught Baghdad Bob everything that poor guy knew).
Walter Cronkite morphed the Viet Cong’s defeat at Hue in 1968 as a victory for Communism in South Vietnam and went on to anchor the CBS Evening News for over a decade before that poseur Dan Rather graduated from getting CBS sued for libel several times to Cronkite’s job. “Cronkite” is the Anglicized spelling of “krankheit,” the German word for “sickness,” which aptly described his role in describing the Vietnam War to CBS’s audience.
And Dan Rather was the last major anchorman to leave his job in disgrace for screwing a pooch that many thought couldn’t be screwed, lying to the American people by trying to pass a word-processed document as having been written by the secretary of his old commanding officer while he served with the Texas Air National Guard. While that was a relatively narrow-gauge lie in Rather’s career, it happened in the 21st century, and several alert bloggers (me included) leaped at the chance to proclaim Rather either a forger himself or the willing dupe of one. So he really lost his job for Making CBS News Look More Foolish Than Usual. The same crime Brian Williams apparently committed, but for NBC News.
It’s not that these networks object to liars. CBS kept David Letterman after he apparently had a stroke and lost the ability to not preach to his audience, and replaced him with a bigger horse’s ass, Stephen Colbert. It’ll be grimly fascinating to watch the Late Show’s ratings sink below PBS’s with that self-important little twerp in Letterman’s place.
No, Brian Williams succumbed to lying to make himself look good. If he’d just stuck to lying to protect Democratic Party big-wigs, he’d have been fine. He’d have been earning good will for General Electric (NBC’s old corporate parent), and billions in Federal loan guarantees and other equity for GE Capital to sell goods to Third World nations who have no intention of paying for them. The taxpayers then pay GE when India, Brazil, China and probably now, Iran default on loans for things like GE nuclear reactors that they shouldn’t have anyway.
But when Williams tried to make himself look intrepid and steal glory from real embedded journalists in Iraq… even NBC had to do something, They hid him where no one will ever see him – in his own show in MSNBC.
The many comments about Mr. Williams seem to all be about his making up something, a lie, to make himself look better. There is another kind of a lie. It’s the one where you leave out a part of the story. It is called a “lie of omission”. When you get “sworn in” at court, before you get to tell your story or respond to questions, you get to say, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. That middle part, “to tell the whole truth”, does not seem to be a big thing in Mr. Williams news game. It is my opinion that Mr. Williams has been leaving out a lot of stories for many years, to make his freinds look better. There are no rules about just not having a news story be reported on your news show today. To bad, I for one would like to hear a number. Harris Cooke.
Almost the entire Washington press corps had been in “lie of omission” mode since Obama was still running for President in 2008. Racist “spiritual advisor” who yells “God DAMN America!” and screams obscenities about other races from the pulpit? That would have been the gory train wreck of anyone else’s political career, but the press dropped that story like a hot potato to fly up to Alaska and dig dirt up on Sarah Palin and her family. Broken campaign promises? Outrage and hellish coverage for anyone but.. you guessed it.
You’re right. Brian Williams didn’t lose credibility – brown-nosing Barack Obama for six years did that for him. He made all the other lies he told to protect the national Democratic Party and the worst president the US has ever had look very obviously false with that self-serving fib about almost getting his lying ass shot off in a helicopter over Iraq..
Almost 32 yrs ago, in 1973, I was in pursuit of a suspect when I tripped & fell at a curb, badly smashing the cartilage in my left knee. Not very “romantic,” but that’s the way it was. Although I was determined at the time to be eligible for a LOD Disability pension (3/4 salary, non-taxable,) my persistence in remaining on the job led to a career totalling over 30 yrs, although not in a “street” position any longer. When I made the decision that I could no longer perform my job to the required standard I retired with a normal pension, which afforded me a living wage & at the same time the personal pride that I “did the right thing.” My biggest battle, though was with those that felt I was STUPID for not taking the opportunity to “play the system.” The point of my comment regarding Williams & his ilk was that many were disappointed that I was not SHOT in the knee, rather than just a boring old trip & fall! But, to this day, more than 30 yrs later, I still take pride in the fact that I still describe the incident as it truly happened. Too bad the Williams group cannot revel in that same pride, & find it necessary to “embellish” in order to increase their “believable factor.” Faulty memory? DON’T BELIEVE IT!
He ain’t no Walter Cronkite.
Again, everyone is attacking the second amendment, what did this clown just do to the first amendment?
Perhaps we should license newspeople and in his case, revoke his license and prevent him from ever working in this field in any way in the future.
I GUESS HE BELIEVES THE OLDER HE GOT THE BETTER HE WAS.
Do you mean to say you believe anything on NBC news? Sounds like just more of the same half-truths they have been spewing for years. Would you expect anything else?
Brian Williams and all anchors via network or cable are nothing more than teleprompter readers. They really do not do the hard work that real journalists do. At this point they might as well just post the words they read on my tv screen so I can do it myself. As to Williams lying about his adventures, yes, he lied. It’s as simple as that. Why? Well, ego for one. He wanted to insert himself into the drama and be a part of the story. People do it all the time. He just got caught is all. He killed his credibility by doing this and getting caught.
It was obviously a lie. Anyone would be able to remember if they came under-fire and especially if they were hit by a missile or RPG. And then the second lie. Saying he was right behind the helo that was hit. By all the accounts I heard he didn’t arrive until an hour later.
I can’t understand why Williams would create a lie so easy to confirm by the people that were there.
He’s sure lost my trust!
One misremembers someones name that you met 10 years ago,not the circumstances where someone tried to kill you!
I find it hard to believe, and I have lost confidence in, and respect for, him. He should consider Yahoo News, or something less mainstream.
Did Hillary spout out being in a plane taking fire. Daughter was with her????
Barack Hussein Obama’s other news channel
Obama’s Media are getting so good at the “Bait & Switch” News Technique
Penn & Teller must be in awe of it.
All of your MSM news people lie. Hell, even the white house has ‘editorial control’ over certain stories that CNN (and most likely everyone else) runs. And not the kinds of stories you’d think.
http://yournewswire.com/cnn-journalist-governments-pay-us-to-fake-stories-shocking-expose/
Media people are SPIN DOCTORs! How they shape people’s opinion with their lies
Don’t be silly. Did anyone see the damage to the Chinook? It was only a 6″ tear, and no passenger on board knew they were hit until the pilot told them of the indicators. All the helicopters landed to stay together that night. It was the same for all the passengers, if they were on the one hit or not. Whether or not Williams was on the actual one that got hit is totally irrelvant, and easily forgotten. It was just a little bit of shrapnel from an air burst, and not a full RPG impact detonation.
Why are we surprised ?? The North American news media is pure theater & its mouthpieces are the actors.
“Brian Who?”
We should not “Conflate” Mr Williams being but one more liberal sack with the fact that he was in an area of considerable danger and got spooked.. What?
I been spooked a few times how about you?
We all know the first time one hits the stress of people really trying to harm us/dangerous situations. Things get confused.. reality gets distorted.. Time really does slow down…
So people when they are frightened stressed especially for the first few times do conflate and get mixed up..
I would imagine rich people whose lives are so much more valuable than ours (just ask them)..They will get even more stressed, confused and excited ((Hey Abu Do you know who I am..Hey Hey… uh….stop… I’m… I’m rich…”) lol ,,,,
Keep in mind the real monied elite and their toadies (like Williams) would not care if Gas was $20 a gallon… that matters because of what is suggests….they live in a very safe world , insulated from reality by their money for the most part and it does not take much to set their imaginations on fire..
Just look at the Gun Issue… There is a nice Biblical Quote..
“The Wicked Flee when no man pursuith but the righteous are bold as the Lion..”
These Elitiest Sacks and their Toadies like Williams are simply Wicked at best.. and as such are fearful because they know their own minds their own hearts….. they know the criminal and evil intentions they hold and act upon.. They are fleeing from themselves when they demand we disarm…
It is not hard to understand that Liars, Cheats and Thieves… fear honest people.. and justice. So they imagine we all give a rat’s backside about them… When we really don’t and just want to be left alone.. live in peace.
Maybe this will help..
I was an ambulatory patient in a in Military Hospital walking the grounds when a Young SEAL out of uniform (Petty Officer I think) came up to me and said .. Sir.. I am really sick and these people (meaning the Hospital Staff) do not seem to understand I thought about it for a min, smiled at him and said.. ” For most of them on a Pain Scale of 1-10 a hangnail is a 7… For you a missing finger having just had it torn off is a 6…. You as a young Warrior would be embarrassed to carry on.. “Oh I hurt” unless you have a missing leg and a sucking chest wound that is part of the Warrior Culture.. They have no equivalent level of experience with discomfort. nor do most of them have the Warrior mindset they are not embarrassed to express their discomfort… It is not that they do not care or do not want to help they simply have no equivalent frame of reference for the most part..
Warriors therefore do not even speak the same language as those who are not because of this.
Williams is just another dumb bunny a very rich liberal toady, dumb bunny … we should not condemn him for as one fellow put it well …Being Human.. Better to ignore him as but one more Elitist Wanna be sell out, just like any another Liberal Sack of Poop…
Best just to laugh .
Let us spend our time and energies defending liberty.. in all it’s parts..
Better to spend some time enjoying the odd music of “Mason Williams” and when you hear the other Williams.. just think..
“Brian Who”?
All the Best…
Victor
Amen
I am a USMC veteran of WWII and Korea. When asked where I served in WWII I say “San Diego and San Francisco” because that is where I was stationed. It was at the end of the war and someone had to do the stateside duties. I don’t try to embellish it even though I could say I was at Iwo Jima and no one would know the difference at this late date. Korea was a different story. I spent a year in that frozen hell hole and remember almost every minute of it. Things like that are not forgotten regardless of what BW says. He has embarrassed himself and CNN in my opinion. He should be put out to pasture permanently along with a lot of the other liberal newscasters who slant the news to their advantage…
This is just the Tip of the Iceberg, “The Corrupt News Media” door is only sightly cracked opened. As we all know these so-called News Journalist are Habitual Liars and make and show only what they want to and extend their agenda
I don’t watch the enemedia much, but there was always something phony about Williams I could never put my finger on. Now I know what it is. This Clarabelle is a fraud!
Being in a Chinook that was shot down in Vietnam in 1968 it is a personal affront to me and I would think all combat veterans for such an outrageously extreme attempt to share our experiences with an outlandish lie. it is the same thing Hillary told about receiving sniper fire .
I hope America is truly sick of these people who will do anything to win praise and are eat up with their own importance. We need strong honest trustworthy people giving us TRUE news and living in The White House. Both individuals need to resign or be fired.
I served in combat over 40 years ago and have talked “in-country” experiences with hundreds of veterans. Here’s what I’ve learned……almost all of them have a story that is exaggerated or even an outright lie about one or two memories. Yes, occasionally they tell the truth but no matter what you did in a combat zone it’s easier on the soul to exaggerate than it is to relive the truth. That doesn’t make Mr. Williams a bad person it just makes him human.
For a person who claims to be a news “reporter”, it makes him unreliable. That disqualifies him, period. And, “Victor Charles”, for those who do not understand is phonetic alphabet for “VC” or Viet Cong…. our enemy in Vietnam. I served three tours of duty in-country. 1/8th Inf, C Co 52d Inf, and 2/1 Inf. What I’ve seen is that the vast majority of vets won’t talk about their experiences except with other vets who have “been there”, because of the memories that brings back. When speaking with your Brothers, there has never been any urge, or need, to exaggerate anything. The few people who I’ve seen exaggerating or concocting stories have been those non-veterans who wish to steal the “valor.” IF you were in-country, thank you for your service and Welcome Home.
The man lied due to his narcissistic nature, hedonist through and through…I am glad he was called out on this by a great and honorable military man…
Lets notify NBC this turd needs to disappear..
BW is an over paid maroon!
People usually remember when they were shot at. They always remember when they almost lose their life in a crash due to enemy fire. If Brian, who seems like a decent guy needed to feel good about himself by inflating a story, that is his choice, When he inflates his own fake history about combat, goes on TV and reports the news of the world where real people have real stories, he has crossed a line and lost all credibility.Brian, we liked you with or without bravery. We do not like or respect those with such fragile feelings that inflate their own life with fake stories to be someone they wanted to be but are not. Sorry Brian, too many kids have given their life for us to have millions be told a fairy tale.
Just a typical liberal lair, A liberal wouldn’t tell the truth to save his own Mother’s life. Their all lairs from “Uncle” Walter to this jerk.Should be fired but the network will defend him to the death, It’s the liberal way.
As a Vietnam Vet there are many things I can no longer remember from 50 years ago so I won’t make excuses or condemn BW on the surface. I can easily remember only 3 major events during my tour of service, but other events are blurry after 50 years. However, what I won’t forgive him for is his constant retelling and embellishing of the facts he states. Let’s be honest, BW is trying to protect his $10 million/year salary and NBC their sponsor revenue, and nothing more. His on air apology was really poor, and another attempt to shift attention away from himself and onto the vet he was trying to commend for his actions.
If he had any ethics and principles he would resign from his position, but he won’t do it voluntarily. He is just hoping it all blows over. I won’t watch him again even though he was my favorite newscaster. Maybe if his rating go down enough NBC will dump him and cancel his contract.
It may have started out with a bad memory, but over the years it has become a self aggrandizing lie – A BIG LIE and there is no excusing that EVER. Other newscasters have lost jobs for far less actions. Good Bye Brian!
First of all I’ve consulted both Funk and Wagnalls and Wesbters and there is no such word as “misremembering”! Plain and simple this conterfeit “hero” lied for at least 10 years. No misrepresentation, misspoke, misremembered…flat out lied. Not only that he knew it. The NBC brass told him to stop telling the story and he persisted.
Next comes Hurricane Katrina. “I saw a body floating face down the street from my French Quarter hotel room”. Couldn’t have happened. The French Quarter never took any substantial water at all. It was pretty much dry like wet pavement after a rain storm. No “floating body” here.
Now comes the ride with the IDF and a Katusha rocket passed directly underneath his helicopter (what’s this guy’s fixation on helicopters?). Another lie, at least according to the pilot who chauffered him around during that period.
So what do have here. We have a “news reader” who thinks he’s a “journalist” even though journalists disappeared from the MSM long ago. Next we have what has been consistent phony news reports as far back as Edward R. Murrow (Joe McCarthy attacks on unfounded info), Walter Cronkite(Tet Offensive lie that we lost it when clearly we won and that was even supported by the enemy), The NYT (A pulitzer prize for the stories about how wonderful things were in the Soviet Union as millions were being starved to death by Stalin), Dan Rather(phony Xerox documents in an attempt to discredit George W. Bush’s National Guard service), NBC with an exploding truck (created by the news producers to fit the story line) to Brian “my chopper took an RPG round” Williams. It’s all part and parcel of their blatant attempt to either manipulate the American public to their agenda or take credit for that which never happened so they look valorous. Brian Williams is nothng more than a symptom of the greater left wing/look at me illness that afflicts the Main Stream Media in this country.
an off the cuff remake could be a lie but a scripted report………………………….. come on man it’s a out and out lie and the guy should be fired and banned from reporting(?) anything.
crap like this is why America has sunk to the depth it has. no integrity, no morals, no pride.
take America back people or lose everything America has stood for.
It was an intentional lie. I knew Williams was very much on the left but I did not know he was dishonest as well. The facts speak for themselves. He told this story months after it happened and has told that same story many times over the years and nobody ever called him on it as they were told in left-wing functions. It also appears that this is a common occurrence for Mr. Williams as he has told some pretty strong lies in the past such as his statements concerning Hurricane Katrina seeing dead bodies floating by his hotel when those roads were basically dry etc. etc.
This liberal azz clown sold his soul for a golden idol a long time ago.
His kind crawl out of the woodwork after the fact in order to reap the glory earned bu those that died and were crippled and had no voice left to speak with.
Being a Vietnam combat Marine Vet and having flown in plenty of Huey’s and Chinook 46 ,I still remember having received small arms fire.We would sit on flack jackets to prevent being it,since the chopper skins could be penetrated with a marble and a good slingshot An RPG would’ve blown that chopper out of the air,so I don’t believe Brian Williams story.Also those choppers carrying high value personnel as news reporters are considered would’ve had plenty of Apache choppers providing escort coverage,with that said I’m sure he isn’t the first to embellish on a story.Look at Hilary Clinton story of receiving sniper fire,and how many times have we watched Geraldo exaggerate being close to the action ,while the camera pans around and you see people just standing watching the bombing going on at a safe distance. It just shows the poor state of affairs our news has become.I remember when the Enquirer was the rag magazine and all the main stations were the reliable news.Now it’s the other way around the Enquirer gives you more reliable news even with thier alien invasions then the main news media.So this too will be forgotten.At least he didn’t pose sitting on an enemy anti-aircraft gun like some other celeberty has done and then be named woman of the year.
I’m sure that all wars have produced a lot of embellishments over the years. I seem to remember some talk about Dan Rather back in Nam running around in his safari outfit saving the world.
lest we forget his reporting on Katrina when you could hear gunshots in the background he said there were more automatic weapons in new Orleans then there were in bagdad
I was a SAR wet swimmer in HS-9 and I assure you I remember every detail of the times I was frightened (which admittedly was quit often) I do not know how things are done now but back in ’84 & ’85 any incident or accident went before a board of inquiry.
I feel sorry for this fellow he is a sad example. I do understand why veterans will despise this man who has unmanned himself with this deception. As for me, I’d never heard of him before this so the infamous 15 minute clock is ticking as far as I’m concerned and when it is over so is he. I also made the Hillary Clinton school of special forces comment and as far as I am concerned her sin is much more egregious, as she is more than just a talking head.
Rick 173 said everything I was going to say. The only difference was I was i Vietnam in 68-69 and again in 71 and I only spent 3 weeks on a hospital ship for my wounds. Brian Williams is a disgrace. He should find another line of work. That is true of most of the mainstream, liberal journalists. You can’t believe anything that they say.
Received his combat training at the Hillary Clinton school of special forces!
These people lie to use 24/7 about things that are actually important and we’re all upset about his own ego stroking?
I served two Combat tours in Nam [won the Bronze Star and Purple Heart x 2…who cares?] and I am always amused that it seems people that have probably “never gone outside the wire” are the most upset, over things like this. He’s a Newscaster for GOD Sakes …not the Pope! Where people get off saying he has to be TRUSTWORTHY…TO -READ- THE NEWS, is beyond me. People lie all the time about their golf scores, the fish they caught and the size of their “gun”. If you think about it, the Command SGT. Major he was honoring, went along with the deception and he wore the colors for 24 years. Everyone needs to stand down and worry about the terrorists.
I care, thank you for your service and the blood you shed for your country. My apologies for how this country marginalized your service and minimalized your benefits. I was in the Navy during the 1980s a time this country did proxy wars for those that served in them this country didn’t even dignify their service with acknowledgement. I find that veterans are a rare and dyeing breed (less than 2% of the population serve). From the blood in their teeth combatants to the clerks all are to be honored for their service and sacrifice as we are given only so many minutes hours and days on this planet and they ARE valuable and to give this time to a country that by it’s administrative behavior indicates they really could care less, and that my friend is a shame. Cheers.
One problem pathological liars have is they don’t tell stories to others, but to themselves. After awhile that truth becomes “boring”, so they goose it up, and it’s a dog chasing his tail. Then again is he much different them the rest of the big government “elite” PC’s? Like Islamists the leftists feel like one of their “Gods” and in the spirit of Machiavellian, have no problem lying to “non-believers”.
Right Wing Fanatics like to compartmentalize. Its ok for a guy like Christopher Kyle to tell numerous lies and then be called a hero by them but when a member of the main stream media tells a lie then he is raked over the coals. A lie is wrong no matter who tells it but that seems totally lost on the Right Wing Fanatics.
WOW, You really missed the ENTIRE point. The difference is, WILLIAMS is in a position of trust of power of information to the public at large, whilst Kyle is NOT.
The fact that you don’t see this VERY important point, and your use of “right wing”, is representative of your Lefty socialist mindset .
Far as I’m concerned, though I support your right to free speech, your opinion is totally null and void.
No you missed the point. Kyle wrote a book that was sold to the public and in that book he was caught in lie after lie and the book was the basis for another big lie which was the movie glorifying him.
I might also remind you Jennings told 1 lie while Kyle told many. Now who is the bigger hypocrite ?
I meant to type Williams not Jennings
Well I am a democrat and a veteran and must say that there is a difference between a “sea story” from a bona fides veteran and a talking head trying to enhance his street credibility. You would know this if you were a veteran or at least understand some of the indignation. Is it overblown? perhaps. I will say it is a PR stroke of genius because I had never heard of the guy before this deception came to light. As far as fanatics go they are both sides of the aisle and neither serve much purpose. Signed A David Boren Democrat from Oklahoma.
You dream of being spit-roasted by Marx and Engels, don’t you?
The anti gunners are sent here to rebel rouse and get you to incriminate yourselves.
Don’t kill the fisherman who embellishes his catch! I don’t give a damn if his helicopter or the one in front of him took the hit, just an angle of deflection and that round is up his butt! The damn man has more combat than I, with 13 years in a peacetime combat position, still logged over 2,500 hours in rescue birds. He has a classic symptom of PTSD,….. pin a medal on his chest and promote him to the head office! And, give him combat pay and access to VA benefits!!!! He’s one of us! Now, more than ever!!! DAV
Similar to Hillary being shot at in Bosnia but the media sure burried that story. You can never trust an anchor who lied about an incident like this but a presidential candidate is OK.
I thought I heard him say RPG, not shot down by small arms fire! If you beleave the one sided news from ABC, NBC, or CBS you are in for a lot of one sided lies. Remember Obama had all the Networks in the head offices of these stations when they first broke the story on the Computer thief with the printing of of the theifs first release of National security information on phone recording, REMEMBER? They were told that all information had to be sent to thier offices first, before airing the story. If you do beleave all the stuf that comes out of their mouths is to get you to watch there program so they change the ‘who’s side” of the story they are on to get you to watch. More viewers, higher cost for ADS to be shown. It is not to give you the news, But something to get you interested to stay in your seat and see the ADS. This is not news any more it is just like wrestling,sorry fans, but it is all staged. I watched two wrestlers that was being telivised LIVE in the second row at the armory. I was lucky(at the time I thought so) to watch my loved to watch wrestler and the one I disliked the most wrestle the main event. My wrestler(always played the good guy) get a cut on his forehead, blood flying everywhere and he lost the match because He could not continue. We (my friends and I) went out to eat, in a different town at a small cafe, with good food. . Guess who walked in together? Yep my “Hero and talking with His hated enemy. While my friends were tryed to get me to go talk to them, I had noticed that my “hero” did not have a mark one on his head. They sat in the both directly behind me. The words of the conversation that I remember the most is,” Tony that when real good tonight, the crowd really got into it. If you still got some of that fake blood, lets do it again in Salem 6this Wensday.” Sorry about any SP errors. The point is YOU figure it out. You have enough info in the above. g
I was in-country in 1965-66, 67-68 and 70-71. With the 1st Infantry Division in a camp we called Bearcat and time with the 173rd in Bein Hau, spent 3 weeks in 21st Evacuation Hospital and back to our Detachment. With Advisory Team 100 attached to MACV, was on the back gate at Tan San Nuet AFB when Tet erupted. After picking up Warrant was assigned to IIFF Artillery and a ground surveillance radar detachment in-which we moved around all over, including being assigned as the Tom a PBR ( when they needed a replacement for the boats OIC) in a little place called Catlie on the river South of Saigon, this time a couple of days at the Hospital in Saigon then back to my detachment. I remember bits and pieces of some of the firefights and especially TET of 1968, but I do have fuzzy memories of most of my time in-country. Most of it comes back when talking to fellow Vietnam Vets, especially places and the great soldiers I served with.
BW also lied during his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He reportedly saw a dead body float past his hotel room window in the French Quarter, but that area of town never flooded. He also claimed that the hotel was overrun with gangs which was later proven to be untrue. Liar!
“Honest mistake” my rosy red tush! Can anyone say Dan Rather? These guys think they make the news rather than report it and when they get to that point they have to go. Watch BBC. They are called “news readers” and do just that and only that. Freedom of the press, like all freedoms, comes with responsibility. Our press doesn’t like to be reminded of that.
I’m not a fan for Brian Williams, but for all of you “Let’s Beat On Brian Williams” club members, especially those who claim total recall of every incident, you should spend some time reading at least summaries of the most recent research on memory. There is quite a bit of evidence that our memory is akin to a cassette tape — each time we recall an incident, we run the risk of altering the actual memory. This means that those memories which get more vivid over the years are almost always the result of our imagination filling in the blanks. And, for the record, there are lots of folks who remember firefights as a blur — possibly because their brain responded to the stress level by blanking out the worst details.
That’s Point 1.
Point 2 is that, short of an aircraft gyrating out of control or pieces flying off, there is an immense difference in awareness between the flight crew and the passengers as to how bad the situation actually is. I’ve known troops who were napping during a lift and didn’t realize that the landing was forced until they looked back after unloading and realized the chopper was still there with the rotor coming to a halt.
Which leads to Point 3: There is a significant contextual difference between being shot down and making a forced landing due to damage from ground fire. If both birds come down to a controlled landing, still in formation, how much would you bet that there are folks on the damaged bird wondering why they’re landing?
I will say that I think it’s to Mr. Williams’ credit that he admitted his mis-telling, which is a lot more than some very real Vietnam vets I’ve talked to when questioned about clear anachronisms in their storytelling — and that includes at least one guy who was still wearing a funny little green hat with corresponding patches on both shoulders plus a respectable amount of hard-earned fruit salad on his chest when I chatted with him (he got all kinds of pissy at this no-time-in-service PFC, then confused, then just grumpy).
So maybe Mr. Williams embellished his story or maybe he does have a hard time remembering which bird got hit. There are incidents in my career which I can remember vividly but couldn’t tell you for sure exactly which year they happened. So, bottom line, I’m inclined to not get into a huff over him misstating whether he was in the bird which made a forced landing or the one which made a required landing to stay with the damaged bird.
Rick 173 said everything I was going to say. The only difference was I was i Vietnam in 68-69 and again in 71 and I only spent 3 weeks on a hospital ship for my wounds. Brian Williams is a disgrace. He should find another line of work. That is true of most of the mainstream, liberal journalists. You can’t believe anything that they say.
Anchorpeople are actors, not newsmen. They are chosen for looking sober, pretty and believable. It’s purely theater.
Brian Williams forgot that he’s just supposed to read the script and tried to pretend he was actually involved.
I’d fire him if I were NBC for bad acting — giving lie to the image of probity that he’s supposed to project. If they keep him, however, I sure the public will forget and forgive.
I’ll take ‘Whoppers’ for $1,000, Alex.
LMAO at Strangelove’s comment.
I wouldn’t hold my breathe waiting for this cowardly turd to do ANY honorable thing…he simply put on public display the character deficiency that is inherent in all liberals and so-called moderates.
Roger that……One of my best friends from high school was shot down and killed April 4th, 1969 in Quang Tri, Viet Nam after being in country exactly 6 months. While trying to evacuate ARVN troops and was on the 3rd attempt of trying to get them.
NOTHING FUZZY OR MIS REMEMBERED ABOUT IT. wILLIAMS WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE HIMSELF THE MAN HE WILL NEVER BE.
This guy is one of David Lettermans liberal jerk friends made out of the same stuff as Bloomberg. He needs to go.
In 1966 I served as a 11B in Viet Nam. After six months in the bush involved in numerous firefights I was wounded and spent 13 months in a Army hospital in Japan. It has been 48 years and I say this. I remember every firefight I was in, every detail of what happened in my area of responsibility, every incoming round, morter round, close in artillary round,
hot lz and command from my squad leader, platoon leader and any others with more stripes or bars than I had. Every friend I lost and even more clearly the hours after I was hit. I remember with great clarity the face and eyes of the door gunner who grabbed my leg and shouted something at me. That was the only detail I don’t remember because the rotor noise and gunfire drowned out his voice. Then I was out. The thing I remember was a Nurse standing over me. She was saying I was going to be ok and not to be frightened when I saw all the tubes and stuff. She had the most beautiful voice I ever heard.
Ask some combat vets you know if any of the details of their firefights are fuzzy. Or if the memories change or morph into different things.
43 years ago, I was a crew chief on a helo that made an emergency landing after an on board fire. 30 years ago I was flying a helo that had an inflight oil cooler failure that COULD have been led to a catastrophe.
I can to this day remember smells, visuals and countless other specifics about those two incidents like they both just happened.
To make such a remark made by Mr. Williams as to not remembering if the helo he was on was hit by hostile fire is patently absurd.
He lives a life of privlege and adventure few can even imagine, and to resort to Mittyesque ramblings is inexcusable.
Chuck, amen brother! Inexcusable and undeniably something you would never forget, but in his case understandable and forgiveable, let me explain. He was simply “awe struck” and because he is a journalist he bore witness to something that few Americans except the ones who have actually served in uniform and in combat ever see. Unfortunately, there seems to be a run on “Stolen Valor” these days by those who may actually want to pay tribute in some way to those brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much during what has been one of the most psychologically and physically damaging Wars, (Yes, Wars with a capital W) in our nation’s history but there are other ways to go about it. Celebrate your local heroes, contribute to Veteran’s Aide Fund or Group, help a widow or widower of the Combat Fallen. In my opinion, a guy like this could do so much good because of what he does, it is dissapointing that he has fallen short of his potential. I would like to see the real character of the man and see how he comes clean and redeems himself to once again become a force for good. I think he got
swept up and enamoured with the sacrifices and bravery he saw displayed by our awesome American fighting men and women during his brief encounter with them.
Chuck, amen brother! Inexcusable and undeniably something you would never forget, but in his case understandable and forgiveable, let me explain. He was simply “awe struck” and because he is a journalist he bore witness to something that few Americans except the ones who have actually served in uniform and in combat ever see. Unfortunately, there seems to be a run on “Stolen Valor” these days by those who may actually want to pay tribute in some way to those brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much during what has been one of the most psychologically and physically damaging Wars, (Yes, Wars with a capital W) in our nation’s history but there are other ways to go about it. Celebrate your local heroes, contribute to Veteran’s Aide Fund or Group, help a widow or widower of the Combat Fallen. In my opinion, a guy like this could do so much good because of what he does, it is dissapointing that he has fallen short of his potential. I would like to see the real character of the man and see how he comes clean and redeems himself to once again become a force for good. I think he got
swept up and enamoured with the sacrifices and bravery he saw displayed by our awesome American fighting men and women during his brief encounter with them.
Chuck, amen brother! Inexcusable and undeniably something you would never forget, but in his case understandable and forgiveable, let me explain. He was simply “awe struck” and because he is a journalist he bore witness to something that few Americans except the ones who have actually served in uniform and in combat ever see. Unfortunately, there seems to be a run on “Stolen Valor” these days by those who may actually want to pay tribute in some way to those brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much during what has been one of the most psychologically and physically damaging Wars, (Yes, Wars with a capital W) in our nation’s history but there are other ways to go about it. Celebrate your local heroes, contribute to Veteran’s Aide Fund or Group, help a widow or widower of the Combat Fallen. In my opinion, a guy like this could do so much good because of what he does, it is disappointing that he has fallen short of his potential. I would like to see the real character of the man and see how he comes clean and redeems himself to once again become a force for good. I think he got
swept up and enamoured with the sacrifices and bravery he saw displayed by our awesome American fighting men and women during his brief encounter with them.
Reminds me of an observation by a Vet and a US Rep named Moulton who supposedly said something like: There is a healthy disrespect on the part of veterans of front-line combat for people who walk around telling war stories.
BRIAN WILLIAMS’ WAR STORY: HONEST MISTAKE OR DELIBERATE LIE?
Do we even have to ask? This is, after all, the network that blatantly doctored the Zimmerman 911 recording before playing it on the air.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it were to be revealed that NBC knew about the fabrication and let it pass.
How does BW spell self-aggrandizement?
No chance this was just an honest mistake. If you’re shot down, you know it. And if you weren’t, you obviously know that, too.
This media clown is no different than Jesse Ventura, who has lied so long and so often about his (nonexistent) SEAL team exploits in combat that he’s lost all credibility and is just an embarrassment to the UDT community. Ventura never set foot anywhere in Southeast Asia, let alone Vietnam, and made up his war stories to cover up the fact that he was too much of a coward to volunteer for the additional SEAL training and assignment, even when the SEALs were begging the UDT teams for volunteers.
Hanging around with REAL men in a combat zone made Williams feel quite inferior (which of course he is), so he made up his own “combat experience.”
Just as Ventura is a fraud & a coward, and an embarrassment to the Navy, Williams is a fraud and a coward who is an embarrasment to honest journalists everywhere. All five or six of them.
I thought this article was about Brian Williams. If you have a bone to pick with Ventura, why not do so with him directly, or within a forum discussing any facts, fiction, or allegations related to Ventura himself, not Brian Williams.
Take it easy there, Bob. Yes, the article is about Brian Williams. However, The over-riding theme of the event is how we feel about people in positions of authority (Williams, Ventura, Hillary) lying about their alleged adventures in an effort to garner attention, sympathy and accolades.
Yeah .. Not sure how he mistakingly thought he was in a Helo that was shot dn. I was in 2 Huey Crashes and I remember them clearly! Although they were 40 years ago. He’s just a Little Man who wishes he was one of the Big Boys.
Jack
Door Gunner, ‘ Nam ’71-72
Seriously? Does anybody out there think you would forget or “Misremember” if you were shot down in a helicopter in hostile territory? It’s the most ridiculous excuse for getting caught in a lie I’ve ever heard.
Conflate??? Is that a new word for lie? Brian Williams obviously lied to pump up his own image. There is no mystery about it.
It’s like the guy who said he was in the service in Iraq or Afganistan or Vietnam for that matter and wasn’t within 5000 miles of the place and never was in the service to begin with. In that situation its called stolen valour. I don’t know what you would call this except a bald face lie. His efforts to avoid saying he made up this story are falling flat. He should just fess up and beg forgiveness. People for the mot part are pushovers and he may just be able to survive if he throws himself on the viewing publics sympathy. However, one more conflate type word will seal his fate.
How about the deliberate misleading on the Florida shooting involving Zimmerman and a sweet looking(10 years ago) black man
Nothing deliberate. The so called nice looking black man (aka The Thug) just bit off more than he could chew. Got what was coming to him.
Genuine delusion by way of self-aggrandizement; proof that liberals believe their own specious point of view and self image.
really? censorship here?? really?