Two Liars: Which Is Worse? |
|
On February 14, we reported that a Navy master chief whom we did not identify had told us that on the night that TWA Flight 800 was shot down by a missile, he was on the bridge of a submarine that was very close to the site of the crash. He told us that he had seen something go up and the plane come down. He said they were so close that they submerged to avoid being hit by the falling wreckage. He said there were two other submarines close by and that they were engaged in an operation. James Kallstrom, who headed the FBI investigation of the crash, had previously told us that three vessels close to the Long Island shore that showed up on radar were Navy vessels on classified maneuvers. Those three vessels were identified in an FBI report as submarines. They were the Trepang, the Albuquerque and the Wyoming. The master chief, whose name is Randy Beers, was on the Trepang. He said that there were a number of other Navy ships that were participating in maneuvers off Long Island that night, information that we also had previously confirmed from radar data. He also said that when the Trepang returned to port, the crew had been interviewed by FBI agents, who wanted to know if they had returned with all their weapons intact. Beers story was credible. He claimed to have seen what many civilians had seen. Without disclosing his name or the name of the submarine, we reported that finally someone in the Navy had told what they had seen that night. Beers said nothing that he told us was classified, but when we spoke to him four days later he was very worried. He collects a disability pension, and he was afraid the Navy would cancel it if it became known that he had talked. We told him that the Navy could not do that, but that did not allay his fears. To us, that indicated that he was telling the truth. Nearly three months later we told him we had decided to identify him and the submarine. He said he had not been able to sleep because he was so afraid he would lose his pension. He then said that he had made up the story he had told us. He said the Trepang was in port that night. We knew that was false, but he said, "That’s my story and I’m sticking to it." He appeared to be saying that his retraction was a lie, but it was what he would tell reporters if we identified him. We laid all this out in our newsletter, the AIM Report, and began a probe of Beers’ reputation for veracity. We checked with his last employer, who thought he was honest. We set out to find and question other members of the crew of the Trepang. We have interviewed four officers who were on the Trepang when the airliner crashed. None of them saw the crash. If Beers had seen it, they were sure everyone else on the sub would have known about it. They were informed by radio. One said they were near the crash site. A plane flying above it was said by another to be part of their exercise. It was canceled because of the crash. Two said the FBI asked them about missiles when they got back to port six to eight weeks later. Beers lied to us. He has admitted it. Our government lied big time to discredit all the witnesses who saw a missile shoot down the plane. It refused to let any of them testify. Which liar is the worst? Reed Irvine can be reached at ri@aim.org |
Lies About TWA 800: Which Are The Worst?
By Reed Irvine
March 8, 2002
Two Liars: Which Is Worse?
By Reed Irvine and Cliff Kincaid
March 14, 2002
__________
At the end of January, I reported in this column that a retired Navy petty officer, whom we did not identify, had told us that on the night that TWA Flight 800 was shot down by a missile, he was on the bridge of a submarine that was very close to the site of the crash. He said that he had seen something go up and the plane come down and that the sub had submerged to avoid being hit by the falling wreckage. He said there were two other submarines close by and that they were engaged in an operation. That confirmed what James Kallstrom, who headed the FBI investigation of the crash, had previously told me— that three vessels close to Long Island that showed up on radar were Navy vessels on classified maneuvers.
On February 14, we reported that a Navy master chief whom we did not identify had told us that on the night that TWA Flight 800 was shot down by a missile, he was on the bridge of a submarine that was very close to the site of the crash. He told us that he had seen something go up and the plane come down. He said they were so close that they submerged to avoid being hit by the falling wreckage. He said there were two other submarines close by and that they were engaged in an operation. James Kallstrom, who headed the FBI investigation of the crash, had previously told us that three vessels close to the Long Island shore that showed up on radar were Navy vessels on classified maneuvers.
__________
Those three vessels have been identified by the FBI as the Trepang, the Albuquerque and the Wyoming, all submarines. Our petty officer contact was Master Chief Randy Beers, the corpsman on the Trepang. He had acknowledged that there were a number of other Navy ships that were participating in maneuvers off Long Island that night. I assumed these to be the thirty-odd vessels that radar data showed were in or sailing toward W-105, a large area of the ocean that is frequently used by the military for training exercises or tests. He also said that when the Trepang returned to port, the crew had been interviewed by FBI agents, who wanted to find out if they had returned with all their weapons intact. He said they had, but the question suggested that the FBI was trying to find a Navy vessel that had launched a missile that night.
Those three vessels were identified in an FBI report as submarines. They were the Trepang, the Albuquerque and the Wyoming. The master chief, whose name is Randy Beers, was on the Trepang. He said that there were a number of other Navy ships that were participating in maneuvers off Long Island that night, information that we also had previously confirmed from radar data. He also said that when the Trepang returned to port, the crew had been interviewed by FBI agents, who wanted to know if they had returned with all their weapons intact.
__________
Beers story seemed credible. He claimed to have seen what many civilians had seen. Beers said nothing that he told us was classified, but when we spoke to him four days later he was very worried. He gets a disability pension, and he feared the Navy would cancel it if became known that he was the source of what I intended to publish. My efforts to assure him that the Navy would not and could not do that made no impression on him. His fears strengthened my belief that he was telling the truth. I had made no commitment to conceal his identity or that of the Trepang, and I decided in early February to report the story and identify the source.
Beers story was credible. He claimed to have seen what many civilians had seen. Without disclosing his name or the name of the submarine, we reported that finally someone in the Navy had told what they had seen that night. Beers said nothing that he told us was classified, but when we spoke to him four days later he was very worried. He collects a disability pension, and he was afraid the Navy would cancel it if it became known that he had talked. We told him that the Navy could not do that, but that did not allay his fears. To us, that indicated that he was telling the truth.
__________
When I told him of my intention, he told me that he had not been able to sleep because he was so worried about losing his pension. He said that he had made up the story, that he had not seen the TWA 800 crash and that the Trepang was in Groton, its home port, that night. That is obviously false because the FBI has identified it as one of the three submarines off Long Island. When I indicated that I didn’t believe his retraction, he said, "That’s my story and I’m sticking to it." I took that as a warning that he would tell reporters that he had lied if I identified him as my source.
Nearly three months later we told him we had decided to identify him and the submarine. He said he had not been able to sleep because he was so afraid he would lose his pension. He then said that he had made up the story he had told us. He said the Trepang was in port that night. We knew that was false, but he said, "That’s my story and I’m sticking to it." He appeared to be saying that his retraction was a lie, but it was what he would tell reporters if we identified him.
__________
I reported this in Accuracy in Media’s newsletter, saying I did not believe his retraction. But I began to check it out. I located and interviewed five officers who served on the Trepang with Beers. The one who Beers said was on the bridge with him when TWA 800 crashed checked his records and told me that he had been transferred off the Trepang three months before the crash.
We laid all this out in our newsletter, the AIM Report, and began a probe of Beers’ reputation for veracity. We checked with his last employer, who thought he was honest. We set out to find and question other members of the crew of the Trepang. We have interviewed four officers who were on the Trepang when the airliner crashed.
__________
The rest were on the Trepang that night, and they all acknowledged that it was off Long Island, but they didn’t know their exact location. One of them, a navigator, said they were close to the crash site, but none saw the crash. Two were sure they began a long deployment that night. They refused to say where they went. Questioned by the FBI on their return, they told them that U.S. submarines carry no surface-to-air missiles.
None of them saw the crash. If Beers had seen it, they were sure everyone else on the sub would have known about it. They were informed by radio. One said they were near the crash site. A plane flying above it was said by another to be part of their exercise. It was canceled because of the crash. Two said the FBI asked them about missiles when they got back to port six to eight weeks later. Beers lied to us. He has admitted it. Our government lied big time to discredit all the witnesses who saw a missile shoot down the plane. It refused to let any of them testify. Which liar is the worst?
__________
All said they heard about the crash from the radio. None heard about it from Beers. He lied to me, and I regret having been deceived by him. But his lie is nothing compared to our government’s lies about TWA 800. The establishment media spread those lies. They refuse to do what I have done—check the evidence and admit that they have been deceived.