Olbermann Falsely Claims Joe Kennedy Jr Was Shot Down in WW II

The man who believes he's got the top rated news program on cable told his tiny audience Thursday that the eldest Kennedy brother was "shot down in World War II."

In reality, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was part of an experimental program called Operation Aphrodite that attempted to turn a bomb-laden plane into a remote controlled explosive device.

Kennedy was one of many pilots who lost their lives trying to make this program a reality.

But that's not what MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said on Thursday's "Countdown" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, History Channel video describing the mission after that, h/t NBer JEB Stewart):

KEITH OLBERMANN: Tonight, at the JFK Library in Boston, the crowds having waited for hours to pay there respects to Edward M. Kennedy, the man they sent to the Senate nine times, who served them in that capacity for nearly five decades.

Good evening from New York.

One year ago this month, as he was undergoing a chemotherapy treatment, Senator Kennedy having read in the newspaper about two servicemen from the same small town in Massachusetts who had been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. "We are going down there," he said, to pay a call on the families.

And when his treatment had ended, despite the fact that his treatment had just ended, that‘s exactly what he did. He hugged everyone, he pet the dogs and recalling his oldest brother Joe, the pilot who had been shot down in World War II.

No, Keith. Here's what really happened:

Nice try, Keith.