[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H1796-H1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CLEARING THE NAMES OF JOHN BROW AND BROOKS GRUBER
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Long). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Jones) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority
leader.
Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.
[[Page H1797]]
I, again, come to the floor to talk about a 10-year journey that I
have been on with two wives whose husbands were tragically killed on
April 8, 2000. The pilot was John Brow, lieutenant colonel, and the
copilot was Brooks Gruber. They were flying what's known as an Osprey.
I will hold this up, Mr. Speaker. The Osprey has been one of the planes
that the Marine Corps for so long has needed to replace the aged
helicopters from the Vietnam era.
The sadness and the problem was that the MV 22 at the time that it
was being flown by Colonel Brow and Major Gruber was not ready for the
mission it had been assigned to. Sadly, that night there were 17 young
marines in the back of that V 22 that crashed on April 8 in Arizona. So
a total of 19 marines were killed when the V 22 flipped and crashed and
burned.
December of 2002, the wife of Major Brooks Gruber, Connie Gruber, who
lives in my district, Jacksonville, North Carolina, the home of Camp
LeJeune Marine Base, she sent me an email. And I want to read one
paragraph:
I contacted you in hopes that leaders of integrity, free of
bias, would have both the intelligence and the courage it
takes to decide the facts for him/herself. If you do that,
you will agree the ``human factor/pilot error'' findings
should not stand as it is in military history. Again, I
respectfully ask for your support. Please do not simply pass
this matter along to General Jones without offering the
support my husband and his comrades deserve. Please remember,
these 19 marines can no longer speak for themselves. I
certainly am not afraid to speak for them, and I believe
somebody has to. Even though it is easier put to rest and
forgotten, please join me in doing the right thing by taking
the time to address this important issue.
Mr. Speaker, along the way, there have been so many people joining me
in asking the Marine Corps to correct the press release that came out
in July of 2000. And I will read from the press release:
Marine Corps Officials Say Combination of Factors Caused
Osprey Accident: Confirms that a combination of ``human
factors'' caused the April 8 crash of an MV 22 Osprey tilt-
rotor aircraft that killed 19 marines.
It further stated, Mr. Speaker:
Although the report stops short of specifying pilot error
as a cause, it notes that the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft
significantly exceeded the rate of descent established by
regulations for safe flight.
Commandant General Jones, who is now retired, stated:
The tragedy is that these were all good marines joined in a
challenging mission. Unfortunately, the pilots' drive to
accomplish that mission appears to have been the fatal
factor.
Mr. Speaker, that is so erroneous, it is painful for me to even
repeat it on the floor of the House.
I have spent 10 years trying to clear the names of Pilot Colonel John
Brow and his copilot Major Brooks Gruber. If you look at the JAGMAN
report, this is the report that was completed by three marine officers
who were sent the day after the accident to Marana, Arizona, to
investigate. And they published what was called a JAGMAN report. I
would like to read the major section that I think says clearly that
John Brow and Brooks Gruber were not at fault:
During this investigation, we found nothing that we would
characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error, or
maintenance/material failure.
During this investigation, we found nothing that we would
characterize as negligence, deliberate pilot error.
Mr. Speaker, I want to further read because this plane was not ready
for the mission that it was assigned to by General Fred McCorkle, who
was the general that oversaw aviation for the Marine Corps at the time.
In fact, I will read from an expert, Philip Coyle, who understands the
issue involved with this plane. He wrote me a page and a half in his
support of clearing the names of John Brow and Brooks Gruber. And I
will read one paragraph:
Considering that it was ignorance on the part of the Marine
Corps that caused the April 2000 accident, the Marine Corps
should make it clear to Major Gruber's family--with no ifs,
ands, or buts--that Major Gruber was not responsible for the
accident. I don't suppose the Marine Corps ever apologizes,
but considering that the accident was their fault and not
Major Gruber's, an apology to the family would be in order
also.
Another one of those individuals who has joined us in this effort to
clear the names is Rex Rivolo, well known in the aerospace industry as
an expert:
The failure of the manufacturer, Bell-Boeing, and the Navy
to characterize slow speed, high rate of descent handling
qualities of the V 22 through flight testing, the failure to
describe them for the aircrew in the NATOPS, and the failure
to provide an adequate warning system in the aircraft were
the causes of the mishap, not aircrew error.
Mr. Speaker, I reached out to the two attorneys who prosecuted, who
filed suit against Bell-Boeing on behalf of the families. Jim Furman,
himself a Vietnam helicopter pilot, was the attorney for the wives of
John Brow and Brooks Gruber. Brian Alexander in New York and his
associate Francis Young, they represented the 17 families whose sons
were burned to death.
{time} 1550
I'm not an attorney, Mr. Speaker, but I must say, knowing that Bell-
Boeing settled for no one knows how much money because it is closed,
but they settled with the families of the 19 marines who were burned to
death. And Jim Furman has joined me in saying these two pilots had not
been trained, there was no warning system. And, Mr. Speaker, the NATOPS
manual is what pilots have between them that explains if you get into
this kind of situation, you can read and see how to react. The NATOPS
manual they had was written by an Army helicopter pilot, and nothing in
there about vortex ring state, which is a phenomenon that can cause the
plane, particularly a V 22, to flip. And Major Gruber and Colonel Brow
had no idea.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to read comments from the attorney, Jim
Furman:
If there was no human error, it was error for the program
manager to certify the aircraft as airworthy when clearly it
was not. Brow and Gruber found themselves in a position of
having to do what they were not trained or qualified to do.
Jim Furman further stated:
It was not the mission of the operations evaluation crew to
discover the new boundaries and limitations associated with
the V 22. Engineering test pilots, under appropriate test
conditions, should have done this. It is simply wrong and
improper to place this burden upon Gruber and Brow. They did
the best job they could have done under the circumstances.
Mr. Speaker, the wives, Connie Gruber and Trish Brow, are asking that
the United States Marine Corps, on the letterhead of the Commandant of
the Marine Corps, write one paragraph that says Colonel John Brow and
Major Brooks Gruber, pilot and copilot, were not responsible for the
accident on April 8, 2000.
I am very disappointed in the Marine Corps, quite frankly. I have
Camp Lejeune Marine Base, New River Air Station, and Cherry Point
Marine Air Station in my district. I'm not disappointed in the Marines
and their magnificent fighting force for this country, but I never
thought that I would be fighting for one paragraph with the United
States Marine Corps.
These two pilots deserve better than having this blemish against
their names.
Mr. Speaker, there are so many people that have joined in this. The
three investigators, Colonel Mike Morgan, Colonel Ron Radich, and Major
Phil Stackhouse, have given me letters independent of the JAGMAN report
that have clearly stated that nothing in their investigation should
indicate that this was pilot error. I have given this to the attorneys
for the Commandant.
In addition, Jim Schafer, at the time a lieutenant colonel, was in
the air in the third V 22. John Brow and Brooks Gruber were his
friends. He's joined in this effort to clear their names.
It does not make any sense, Mr. Speaker, that the Marine Corps cannot
do what has been asked by the wives. The wives have just asked for one
paragraph that clearly states--and Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, the
Marine Corps owes this to the families because they came out with this
press release that I just read a moment ago, in 2000, and indicated
that this was pilot error. They have seen all the information that I
have accumulated in 10 years.
All the families are asking for their children. Connie Gruber has a
little girl named Brooke. Trish has two boys, named Michael and
Matthew. All they're asking is an official letter from
[[Page H1798]]
the United States Marine Corps that the children can have for years to
come, and whenever it comes up that the crash on April 8, 2000, in
Arizona, was pilot error, Mr. Speaker, they can say, No, that's not
true. I have a letter from the United States Marine Corps Commandant
that clearly states that my father was not at fault.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank The Hill magazine today. I'm sorry that
I had to be featured in it, because the most important thing about the
article--and I want to thank Jeremy Herb, who spent so much time on
this article. He interviewed the Commandant; interviewed General
McCorkle, who was the aviation chief at the time of this crash; and he
interviewed the wives. Again, they clearly understand that if you want
to bring rest to two outstanding marines who have been blamed for this
crash, Mr. Commandant, all you have got to do is write a letter with
one paragraph in it. The wives have given you what they request.
I'm calling on the United States Marine Corps today, the Commandant
of the Marine Corps, to please do what is right. You have the evidence.
The attorneys that sued Bell-Boeing over this accident know more than
anyone, including the Commandant, about what happened and who was at
fault.
Again, Jim Furman and Brian Alexander have joined in this effort. I
hope that the Marine Corps will give the wives what they're asking for.
Mr. Speaker, if we can ever bring this journey to an end, I intend to
go to the cemetery in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with Connie Gruber
and her daughter Brooke, and I want to walk to the grave of the husband
and the father and say, Major Brooks Gruber, Rest in peace. The blame
game is over. You're not to blame for the accident.
And then, Mr. Speaker, I would like to go with Trish Brow and her
sons, Matthew and Michael, to Arlington and say the same thing to
Colonel Brow. Colonel, you have earned the rest. You did nothing wrong
to cause that accident.
Mr. Speaker, it makes no sense that these wives and their children
have had to carry this burden because, Mr. Speaker, too many times
articles are written, books are written, that say one accident in the
history of the Osprey was caused by pilot error. And they're talking
about John Brow and Brooks Gruber, and they're talking about the
accident in Arizona.
I give you one quick example, Mr. Speaker. A book called
``Leathernecks'' was published about 4 years ago. The father of Colonel
Brooks Gruber is living. His name is Bill Gruber. He lives in Naples,
Florida. He fought for this country as a marine in the Korean War. He's
carried the pain of this blemish on his son's name.
He called me a couple of years ago. He knew what I was trying to do
for the families. He called me here in Washington, D.C., about 2 years
ago, and said, Congressman, they've done it again. I said, What's that,
Mr. Gruber?
On page 113 of the new edition of ``Leathernecks'' they've got a
section on the Osprey. They say one accident was due to pilot error.
{time} 1600
Mr. Speaker, I'm a strong man of faith, and I prayed every night that
God would touch the hearts of those who could make the decision to
clear the names of Colonel John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber. And as
long as I serve in the Congress, as long as I have the energy to fight
for these two men, I will continue to fight until the Marine Corps does
what is right. And what is right is to give Connie Gruber and Trish
Brow an official letter with one paragraph on it. And we will ask that
the Marine Corps issue a national press release that the commandant has
done this so that the press in years to come will always be able to
look at that press release by the Marine Corps and see that Colonel
John Brow and Major Brooks Gruber, young men who died too early in
their life, through no fault of their own, they were 17 young marines,
the oldest being 23, in the back of the V 22 that crashed, that they
are not at fault for this accident.
Mr. Speaker, as I do before I close, I ask God to please bless our
young men and women in uniform and their families. I ask God to bless
the families who have given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan
and Iraq. I ask God to please bless the families of John Brow and
Brooks Gruber, and I ask God to touch the heart of the Marine Corps and
the commandant to bring these two men's image to respect and not an
image that is blemished by the accident. I ask God to bless my good
friend sitting here and his family.
I ask God to bless everyone in America. I ask God to bless the House
and Senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of God for God's
people. And I ask God to please bless the President, that he will do
what is right in the eyes of God for God's people. And three times I
will ask, God please, God please, God please continue to bless America.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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