Veterans’ Groups Blast Brian Williams Over ‘Misremembering’ of War Incident
William Thomson was a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, fighting along the hot zone they called the DMZ.
“I did not have to make up stories,” he recalled of his two-year combat tour. “In fact, there’s a lot of stories I try to forget.”
As the state adjutant of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in New Jersey, Thomson might be less forgiving than most others over the NBC News anchor Brian William in recent days over his now-retracted claims that he came under fire as a correspondent covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“There probably won’t be too many veterans watching NBC News tonight,” Thomson said. “We find his stretching of the truth–and I’m being polite–is unacceptable.”
The American Legion was less kind.
“As an organization of American veterans, the American Legion finds this type of behavior to be reprehensible, and we hope that Mr. Williams will redeem himself,” said Legion National Commander Michael D. Helm. “But ultimately, the American people will judge his character.”
At issue is a story that Williams has told over the years of being aboard a military helicopter during the war in Iraq that was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and forced down.
The story–a false claim he has repeated over the years–surfaced again last week during NBC’s coverage of a public tribute at a New York Rangers hockey game for Sgt. Major Tim Terpak. The now-retired serviceman provided ground security for the network correspondent and has since become close with his fellow New Jersey native.
“The story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG,” Williams told fans at the game. “Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded and kept alive by an armor mechanized platoon from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry.”
But while there had been an aircraft forced down, it turned out that Williams and his camera crew were actually aboard a Chinook helicopter following about an hour behind the three helicopters that came under fire. Following the broadcast last week, a reporter for Stars and Stripes spoke to crew members on the downed helicopter who said Williams had been nowhere near it.
After the story ran in Stars and Stripes, Williams apologized on air Wednesday for what he called a memory lapse.
“I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” Williams said. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”
Reconstructed memories
Such lapses are actually not uncommon, said Sean Duffy, an associate professor and director of graduate programs in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University-Camden.
“Memory is notoriously bad,” he said. “The fact that he would have a memory lapse like this is in line with 50 years of research on memory.”
Duffy said so-called “reconstructed memories” are often tied to
extraordinary events–like being in a helicopter in Iraq in 2003–that are relived in ones consciousness, to be revisited and revised.
At the same time, John Renner, a military psychiatrist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Boston Healthcare System in Massachusetts, said it is not unusual for war veterans and victims of post traumatic stress disorder to have altered memories of violent situations.
While Renner said he could not comment directly on Williams’ case and it is unclear if the news anchor was ever close enough to a war zone to suffer from war-related mental trauma, some PTSD victims find their memories of traumatic events getting more elaborate over time–even if other witnesses remember an alternate version of events.
“It’s not usual for people to have memories that are not totally accurate,” Renner said. “Everybody’s memories change over time. They get distorted. That may be part of the human condition.”
Veteran’s family stands by news anchor
Terpak, who was flown from his home in Indiana to New York last week by Williams to attend the New York Rangers game where he was honored, declined through his family to discuss the matter.
But his brother, Michael, stood by the embattled news anchor.
“Who cares about two words?” his brother, Mike Terpak, said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. “Big deal. Does it impugn the guy’s credibility? Is he not believable anyone? I mean, c’mon. That’s stupid.”
Mike Terpak said his brother, now retired from the military, enjoys a friendly relationship with Williams. The two stayed in touch after their time in Afghanistan, connecting over their shared Jersey heritage. Terpak is from Cliffwood Beach, not far from
Tim Terpak isn’t mad at Williams, he said, but is peeved at the amount of attention the story has gotten.
“It’s disruptive,” Terpak said, adding that his brother has gotten media calls from around the country. “What began as a great get-together at the Garden turned into this whole spectacle. He’s not that happy about it.”
Terpak said in the heat of the moment, Williams may have gotten small arms fire confused with rocket fire.
“I’m sure it wasn’t a malicious thing,” he added.
Tags: Veterans News
