I was the pilot in command of the flight that carried Brian Williams into Iraq in March 2003.
The mission was to deliver bridges to the Objective Rams region in order to support our ground-force advancement. We were briefed that we would be operating forward of the line of troops and that the objective was unsecure.
We were a flight of two, and I was the rear aircraft. Our flight to Objective Rams was uneventful, with the exception of a desert dust storm that caused deteriorating conditions not suitable for flight.
We determined that we would not make it back to Kuwait as planned. When we arrived at Objective Rams, we found a US armor unit on the objective. There was also a CH-47 from the “Big Windy” unit out of Germany.
The CH-47 was already shut down, and the entire crew was no longer at the aircraft. We dropped off the bridges and landed next to the parked CH-47 and the Bradley Fighting Vehicles due to the weather.
After landing, we learned that the parked aircraft had received small-arms fire and had been hit with an RPG on their mission.
Brian Williams and crew recorded footage of this parked aircraft. The “Big Windy” aircraft was not part of our unit. It was not part of our flight. We were not flying “behind” them. Our missions were completely separate.
Brian Williams began to tell the story, from 2003, that the lead aircraft in our flight had received this ground fire.
This was not true.
This is not true.
Brian Williams reported on the David Letterman show that the “captain” of his aircraft had received a Purple Heart for a wound to the ear. I was the pilot in command of the aircraft carrying Brian Williams. I do not have a Purple Heart, and my ears are just fine.
The MSNBC video coverage is a blend of Brian Williams riding on my aircraft followed by footage of the parked “Big Windy” aircraft that was shot up long before our arrival.
Brian Williams’ account is not true.
Chris Simeone, 39, is a retired US Army warrant officer 4. He started his 21-year career in the military prior to the War on Terror but went on to serve during the start of the US invasion of Iraq. He now teaches flight courses for the Army.