Brian Jones: “On April 8, which was 2 days ago, 13 years ago, 19 marines crashed and burned in Marana, Arizona. It was a very tragic…”

“On April 8, which was 2 days ago, 13 years ago, 19 marines crashed and burned in Marana, Arizona. It was a very tragic time. The Osprey, Mr. Speaker, is the plane that goes from a helicopter mode to a plane mode. At the time of the accident, it was actually in an experimental phase. Two years after the accident--I was here at the time the accident took place--I received a letter from the wife of Brooks Gruber. He's on my far left. He was the copilot. At the time of the accident, Colonel John Brow was flying the plane. The sad thing about it is why they had 19 marines on the back. The families do not know. And quite frankly, the former commandant of the Marine Corps during the time of this accident, General Jim Jones, not a relation to me, but I think the world of him, he said to me, I don't know why in the world they did not have sacks of weight in the back instead of those 17 marines sitting back there. {time} 1700 Mr. Speaker, the problem is the lawsuits are over. I've spoken to the lawyer in Texas, Jim Furman, himself a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam war, and he represented the families of Connie Gruber and Trish Brow. In addition, Brian Alexander of New York represented 17 families. Mr. Speaker, I always believe this--I might be wrong because I'm not an attorney--that when a substantial settlement is made, then somebody was seen as being at fault. The press release has created the problem.…”