NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams sparked disappointment and cynicism Wednesday when he recanted a story that he was aboard a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq in 2003.
Williams made the confession after the helicopter’s crew members
told Stars and Stripes that Williams wasn’t near the helicopters that took fire that day but was on a different helicopter that landed about an hour later.
“I would not have chosen to make this mistake,” Williams told Stars and Stripes. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”
Crew members said the false story has bothered them since it was first reported.
“It was something personal for us that was kind of life-changing for me. I’ve know how lucky I was to survive it,” flight engineer Lance Reynolds told Stars and Stripes. “It felt like a personal experience that someone else wanted to participate in and didn’t deserve to participate in.”
With Williams’ admission, that discomfort has spread, with many expressing disappointment and sarcasm on social media.
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