"on this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor and thank a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground-fire incident in the desert during the iraq war invasion, i made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," williams said. "it did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert. i want to apologize."









he clarified wednesday that he had been in a helicopter following the one hit by an rpg. he recalled how his nbc news team and the air crew next "spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the iraq desert," a detail that is not in dispute.









the on-air apology, however, may not suffice. williams' public recollection of the events that day has changed several times over the past decade, ranging from his being unaware of the lead helicopter having been struck when changing course, to his apparently witnessing the attack, to his most recently claiming that he was in the rocket-damaged helicopter.









the iraq helicopter controversy is the first to shake williams' decade-long tenure as anchor of "nbc nightly news," the top-rated evening newscast. a network star, he may be able to ride out the unflattering press and social media swipes. but the same might have been said about then-"cbs evening news" anchor dan rather, whose career at the network unraveled in 2004 after bloggers challenged documents he reported as detailing the young george w. bush's service in the texas air national guard.









"i don't know the particulars about that day in iraq. i do know brian," rather said in a statement provided to the huffington post. "he's a longtime friend and we have been in a number of war zones and on the same battlefields, competing but together. brian is an honest, decent man, an excellent reporter and anchor -- and a brave one. i can attest that -- like his predecessor tom brokaw -- he is a superb pro, and a gutsy one."









williams, reporting from kuwait city, described how the lead helicopter pilot of four chinooks flying in formation had observed a man in a pickup truck fire an rpg and another man shoot a rifle. williams didn't say in the report that the helicopter in which he was traveling had been hit. he noted that "all four choppers dropped their load and landed immediately."









"we quickly make our drop and then turn southwest," williams said. "suddenly, without knowing why, we learned we<u+2019>ve been ordered to land in the desert. on the ground, we learn the chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky."









that version of the story, in which williams doesn't witness the attack, matches what former crew members told stars and stripes. they described the anchor as being "nowhere near" the attack, having arrived in a fourth helicopter about an hour after the three helicopters in front were forced to make an emergency landing.









in a television segment on downing's death, williams said that the helicopters "we were traveling in at the start of the iraq war were fired on and forced down for three days in a stretch of hostile desert in a sandstorm." he didn't distinguish between an rpg and small-arms fire, such as from a rifle.









a couple of months later, williams again suggested that his helicopter had been fired upon. in a sept. 12, 2007, interview with gen. david petraeus, he said that "at the start of the war, when i was flying in a chinook with general downing, that helicopter was shot at by a farmer."









later that month, he recounted the story to david letterman, saying that "two of our four helicopters were hit by ground fire, including the one i was in -- rpg and ak-47."









 









 on jan. 30 of this year, williams recalled on the "nightly news" that the "helicopter we're traveling in was forced down after being hit by an rpg." the segment was offering tribute to sgt. tim terpack, who led the platoon that protected the nbc news crew in the desert that day. williams and terpack were shown at a new york rangers game while the arena announcer described how the anchor's "chinook helicopter was hit and crippled by enemy fire."
brian williams under fire over his shifting story of iraq helicopter attack
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