03/12/06 - Lt. Col. Bill Burkett: Why I did what I did

Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, Texas National Guard, retired, caused a firestorm in September, 2004, when he was involved in a 60 Minutes segment which dealt with President Bush’s service in the National Guard. While CBS ultimately retracted their story, the basic truth of the revelations is unchallenged. Peabody Award winner Mary Mapes, who produced the segment of 60 Minutes and was fired after CBS apologized for it, maintains the authenticity of the documents and claims that the attacks against her were orchestrated by a right-wing Internet smear campaign. She wrote a book, Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power about the scandal. Lt. Col. Burkett has been attacked and maligned for his involvement in this episode. In my eyes, Lt. Col. Burkett served his country honorably and in this instance tried to do the right thing, at great personal cost. He is a true ‘local hero’ in a time sorely lacking many. This OpEd piece is in response to my request that he write about why he did what he did. Below is his reply.
Joan Brunwasser


Why did I do what I did… First let me say what I did and didn't do. I did finally decide to share these documents which were passed to me along with other archives with those that could enter them within an ongoing debate concerning a resume that was obviously fudged, had absolute gaps and unanswered questions big enough to drive a truck through. The President could have honestly answered those questions, but chose not to after obviously fabricating a media message within his autobiography that was false. He wisely decided to stop lying, so he went silent.

I did not falsify or fabricate these documents in any way, nor the backgrounds given concerning them.

I saw no meaningful purpose in sharing them until the summer of 2004 because I felt the Vietnam debate was counterproductive to the nation. But once the issue became integrity and truthfulness, the documents took on a different level of importance, and I relinquished them.