In its report on host Brian Williams' apology for a false story about his experience in a helicopter in the Iraq War, NBC News online conspicuously never uses the term "apology" in its coverage of the story, characterizing Williams mea culpa instead as a "correction."

In his statement Wednesday night (above), Williams stresses that he is apologetic for his mistake:

On this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor and thank a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground-fire incident in the desert during the Iraq War invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago. It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert.

I want to apologize. I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft. We all landed after the ground fire incident and spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert.

This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and by extension our brave military men and women veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not. I hope they know they have my greatest respect and also now my apology.

But here is NBC's apology-free coverage of the "clarification" online, which deliberately underscores Williams' attempt to honor retired Sergeant Major Tim Terpak and making sure to note that Williams' report did mention the helicopter "ahead of us":

Brian Williams Offers Clarification About 2003 Iraq Incident

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on Wednesday's program offered a clarification of the events that led to his news team being protected in Iraq by the Third Infantry in 2003 — and his recent honoring of one of the Army vets who was there.

In a piece last week on Nightly News, Williams took Sergeant Major Tim Terpak, who just retired with three bronze stars, to a New York Rangers hockey game, where the vet was honored with a standing ovation by some 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden.

In honoring Terpak, Williams told the story of his helicopter being hit by an RPG, but that wasn't accurate.

On Wednesday's Nightly News, Williams admitted, "I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago."

Williams and his team were actually in one of the aircraft following a Chinook helicopter that was hit.

In fact, in the original Dateline special on the incident, Williams even says, "On the ground we learn the Chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky," acknowledging he was not in the lead helicopter.