Ron Brown's Daughter Questions Crash Investigation
Bill Nalty
http://www.federal.com
The Washington Weekly
April 13, 1998
*Internet Exclusive*
RON BROWN'S DAUGHTER QUESTIONS CRASH INVESTIGATION
Family Hired Private Pathologist to Lay Death Questions to Rest
By Carl Limbacher
OYSTER BAY--In the most extensive public comment to date by any family
member, the late Commerce Secretary's daughter, Tracy Brown, challenged
the integrity of the investigation into the plane crash that the Air
Force says killed her father two years ago last week. Ron Brown's family
has maintained almost complete silence on this sensitive issue as
questions about the circumstances of his death persist. Brown's recently
indicted business partner, Nolanda Hill, went public with her own doubts
about the plane crash last year. Hill pulled no punches: "I don't think
Ron's death was an accident and it needs to be investigated" But despite
recent accounts from four senior military pathologists who worked on the
case and claim they saw evidence of foul play, the Brown family has kept
it's own counsel -- till now.
Tracy Brown appeared last Wednesday on New York's Joan Hamberg Show (WOR
Talk Radio) to promote her new book, "The Life and Times of Ron Brown."
The book is a daughter's tribute to Ron Brown, written to put the
controversies that dogged her father while he served in the Clinton
administration in perspective. President Clinton authored the book's
foreword. [More on Tracy Brown's book follows]
While most of Hamberg's interview concentrated on happier times for the
Brown family, the long-time talk host did broach some tough topics. One
of them was the plane crash which officials claim cost Brown his life
while on a trade mission to Croatia in 1996.
HAMBERG: Now, you talked about this horrendous accident, which came as
such a shock to everyone. But later during the investigation they found
that there were things that, if done properly, this accident never would
have happened. And yet none of the figures who were involved in this
ever had any disciplinary actions?
BROWN: One of the most difficult things in dealing with the aftermath of
the crash is looking at the faces of 34 other families that lost
someone. We've remained really close because we all share this common
tragedy. And it's interesting, today in the news, that they're still
investigating TWA 800 two years later. The investigation into my
father's plane crash -- the Air Force wrapped up in six weeks. They
investigated themselves, punished themselves, fined themselves. We would
never say that's appropriate for ValueJet or TWA. Why is it appropriate
for the Air Force? They determined that the crash was caused by....
HAMBERG: Weather
BROWN: No, not weather.
HAMBERG: Do you know what it was really caused by?
BROWN: The Air Force claims that it was caused by pilot error, failure
of command and an improperly designed approach map. So that's what they
determined. They decided that 16 people were responsible for it. They
publicly named four of them and none of them received any punishment
beyond a reprimand or counseling.
HAMBERG: What is your feeling?
BROWN: It's so difficult to have closure when you still have a lot of
questions.
HAMBERG: That's right -- you don't know what happened.
BROWN: Right. I mean - they investigate themselves. There's no FAA or
National Transportation Safety Board. It's so important that this
doesn't happen again. Are these planes still flying there? Are Air Force
planes still flying with unapproved maps? Are Air Force planes still
without data and flight recorders, which all commercial aircraft are
required to have? I mean - these are really important questions and we'd
have a lot more answers if that plane was equipped with some of the
basic safety equipment that commercial aircraft have.
HAMBERG: But it's closed, right?
BROWN: The investigation is closed. In late November some conspiracy
theories sprouted up....
Hamberg took a commercial break, after which callers were allowed to
speak to Tracy Brown. Yours truly was first on the line:
QUESTION: Miss Brown - Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Kweisi Mfume, Maxine
Waters and others - they've all called for a new investigation into your
father's death based on the accounts of four senior Air Force
pathologists who say they observed a bullet-like wound on Mr. Brown's
head. Do you agree with Jackson, Waters, Gregory and Mfume that there
should be, at least an autopsy done on your father?
BROWN: I don't. I, as well as my family, met with our own independent
forensic pathologist. We looked at the X-Rays and the photographs. And
the wound on my father's head, in my opinion as well as the
pathologist's opinion, is not a bullet wound. It's short, it doesn't go
anywhere, there's no exit wound, there's no bullet in his body, there
are no metal fragments. So in my opinion, it's not a bullet wound. That
does not mean we don't still have a lot of questions about the cause of
the crash. But I don't believe that he was shot in the head or anything
like that. It's been really difficult it terms of us going forward. I
first found out about this, and my family did, when I was on the
Internet one day in December. And I came upon a photograph of my
father's open skull. So that's there for everybody to see, for my five
year old nephews to see, who know how to navigate the Internet already.
So without getting into who stole the photographs in the first place and
distributed them, I don't believe the wound is a bullet wound.
Between Dec. 1997 and February 1998, four senior pathologists with the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology came forward in good faith as
whistleblowers, to Pittsburgh Tribune Review investigative reporter
Christopher Ruddy. Based on photographic evidence of an apparent bullet
wound, Lt. Col. Steve Cogswell told Ruddy he believed Brown's body
should have been autopsied. Cogswell was immediately subjected to
disciplinary measures by the AFIP, prompting his colleague, Lt. Col.
David Hause, who personally observed Brown's headwound, to go public
with his own account. Within weeks, they were joined by Air Force Major
Thomas Parsons and a the head of the AFIP's forensic photography unit,
and Kathleen Janoski, both of whom offered corroborating accounts of a
suspicious bullet-like wound on the late Commerce Secretary's head.
Ruddy's series on Brown's death was at first ignored by the white press.
But the black media circulated news from Ruddy's reports throughout
America. The first governmental response came on Dec. 12, 1997 from Rep.
Maxine Water's, whose office released letters demanding an investigation
to this reporter - only hours after they'd been sent to top officials.
The Washington Weekly's exclusive report revealed that Waters had
requested a preliminary investigation into Brown's death because of a
"firestorm of inquiries" received by her office. The letters were
addressed to Attorney General Janet Reno, Joint Chiefs Chairman, Gen.
Henry H. Shelton and President Clinton himself.
Within a week, Rep. Waters was joined by Kweisi Mfume, head of the
NAACP, who seconded the call for a new investigation. Civil Rights
activist Dick Gregory led dramatic protests out front of the AFIP,
roping its entranceway off with yellow crime scene tape. By Jan. 5, 1998
- a month and two days since Ruddy had broken the story, Rev. Jesse
Jackson told a New York talk radio audience that he too supported a new
probe. "There's is everything to be gained from a new investigation,"
Jackson told WLIB radio host, Gary Byrd.
Throughout all this, the only Brown family member to say anything on the
record was Michael, Ron Brown's son, who offered only a terse "no
comment" to several inquiries. Brown's widow Alma reportedly discussed
the matter with President Clinton and with Pentagon officials. The
substance of those discussions is unknown. But Tracy Brown's remarks
last week suggest that the family has taken a hands-on approach - hiring
their own forensic pathologist, to help answer some of the more
disturbing questions left in Ron Brown's wake.
Will the Brown family's concerns get the same serious treatment now
being accorded to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories regarding Dr.
Martin Luther King's death? His son Dexter has taken the lead in
pressing Attorney General Reno for a new probe. Reno rejected calls for
an investigation into Brown's death last January.
We presume Tracy Brown will be voicing her concerns about the inadequacy
of the Ron Brown plane crash investigation during her national book
tour. Will the Justice Department be listening this time?
Published in the Apr. 13, 1998 issue of The Washington Weekly.
Copyright © 1998 The Washington Weekly (http://www.federal.com).
Reposting permitted with this message intact.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
re The Life and Times of Ron Brown : A Memoir by Tracey L. Brown
From: jim hofmann <jhof...@erols.com>
Summary of quote below:
"...[T]he allegations of corruption that plagued his
years in the Clinton administration are dismissed as
groundless and politically motivated (the president,
by the way, contributes an introduction to the book).
Bracketed by accounts of the terrible day a plane
crash took Ron's life and the grieving that followed
is a survey of major life events: family background,
school days, early career in the army, the Urban
League, rainmaker at a Washington legal/lobbying
firm, and political activities leading to the
chairmanship of the Democratic Party and
appointment as secretary of commerce."
Amazon.com Home Search / Browse Subjects /
The Life and Times of Ron Brown : A Memoir by
Tracey L. Brown, Bill Clinton
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Hardcover, 256 pages Published by William Morrow
& Company Publication date: April 1998 Dimensions
(in inches): 1.18 x 9.57 x 6.50 ISBN: 0688153208
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Reviews and Commentary for The Life and Times of
Ron Brown : A Memoir
Have you read this book? Write an online review and
share your thoughts with other readers.
From Booklist , 01/01/98: In this tinsel age when the
slightest celebrity provokes a well-packaged
biography, one must be forgiven for looking askance
at Tracinda Bolinda Brown's tribute to her father,
Ron Brown, the Clinton cabinet member who was
killed in a plane crash while on a mission to Croatia.
It is high on melodrama, and the eyebrows raise right
off the bat at Tracey's response to her father's image
on video before he boarded the doomed plane: "There
was Daddy, all preppy looking. . . . He looked so
beautiful in his barn jacket, black corduroy pants and
turtleneck, plaid flannel shirt, finished off with L. L.
Bean duck shoes." Are we in J. Peterman territory?
But to the reader's great relief, the work gains legs as
it develops, and one forgives Tracey for she was and
is, most obviously, a daddy's girl. In the end, this is
a moving account of the life of Ron Brown, who
may have regretted that he did not participate in the
civil rights movement of the sixties, but then, his life
was cornered off from racism: his father managed
New York's famed Hotel Theresa, his family and
friends belonged to social clubs, he attended
Middlebury College in Vermont, a school Tracey tells
us that he picked over Brown, Bowdoin, Bates, and
Williams. He glittered when he walked; yet he held
liberal, democratic values. Tracey delivers a life
spent, not squandered. Copyright© 1998, American
Library Association. All rights reserved
From Kirkus Reviews , 01/15/98: Heart-warming
rather than hard-hitting, this loving biography is by a
self-proclaimed ``daddy's girl.'' Writing in the first
person, the author refers to the late secretary of
commerce as ``Dad'' throughout, and the volume is
more family history than chronicle of a public
servant's career. Ron's shared experience with his
son Michael on the scene as the Berlin Wall came
down, for example, is briefly mentioned to introduce
the truly significant event of the trip to Germany:
visiting the house where Michael's parents lived
when he was born. The close-knit life of the Brown
family comes across as nothing short of idyllic, and
there is no doubt that Tracey utterly adored her
father. Even when faults are recognized--Ron's
tendency to fall asleep at odd moments or his
ineptitude as a driver--they are portrayed as endearing
traits; the allegations of corruption that plagued his
years in the Clinton administration are dismissed as
groundless and politically motivated (the president,
by the way, contributes an introduction to the book).
Bracketed by accounts of the terrible day a plane
crash took Ron's life and the grieving that followed
is a survey of major life events: family background,
school days, early career in the army, the Urban
League, rainmaker at a Washington legal/lobbying
firm, and political activities leading to the
chairmanship of the Democratic Party and
appointment as secretary of commerce. In perhaps
the most objective passage of the book, the author
recognizes the source of her father's success: ``Dad's
ability to schmooze was unequalled.'' There is no
pretense that the agenda here is anything other than
paying tribute, and given this candor, the book has
an innocent quality that is charmingly sweet as well
as irritatingly naive. (b&w photos, not seen) (Author
tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP.
All rights reserved.
Customer Comments Michael A. Billings
(mbil...@wharton.upenn.edu) from
Philadelphia/Salt Lake , 04/03/98, rating=10: Ron
Brown was a great man who embraced and enjoyed
life. Throughout this novel the love and affection
with which the Brown's enjoyed life is evident.
Along with a strong love for his family Ron Brown
had a love for life. This book describes a man who
was not afraid to rescue a sinking ship. Throughout
his life he was the one who brought organizations
up. The novel offers inspiration for all.
Look for similar books by subject:
Brown, Ronald Harmon, 1941- Cabinet officers
United States Biography Black American Sociology
Biography / Autobiography Political People of Color
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