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Williams apologized on Wednesday's broadcast of the "NBC Nightly News" for the incorrect report. Social media has had a field day, however, with Williams and photoshopped pictures of the longtime anchor in some of the world's most iconic pictures.
Under the Twitter hashtag #BrianWilliamsmisremembers, Williams' face has been included in iconic images, including the invasion of Normandy, the Last Supper, the moon landing, the Civil War, the movie "Titanic" and in the car chase with O.J. Simpson.
The anchor Williams replaced, Tom Brokaw, has called for Williams to be fired, according to a report Friday in the New York Post.
In another twist, Williams' reporting on Hurricane Katrina is being scrutinized, according to a story in The New Orleans Advocate.
Williams' version of events in the Iraq story has shifted over time. As far back as 2003, Williams did not infer that his aircraft took fire. Williams said on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in 2013, however, that "two of our four helicopters were hit by ground-fire, including the one I was in, RPG and AK-47."
In a report last week on "Nightly News," Williams said, "The helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG."
Williams' admission came after soldiers involved in the mission told Stars and Stripes that the NBC anchor was nowhere near that aircraft or two other Chinooks flying in the formation that took fire.
After the Stars and Stripes story, Williams issued his apology.
"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," he 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."
Williams, 55, worked at WCBS, Channel 2 in New York before joining NBC in 1993. He became the anchor of the "NBC Nightly News" in 2004.
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