Remember The Liberty?...Israel Hopes You Don't
By Dave Gibson (03/13/07)
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty. Most people have never heard of the U.S. Navy reconnaissance ship nor the names of the 34 sailors who lost their lives in the attack. Most people would also be shocked to know that it was our 'friend' Israel that was responsible for the unprovoked and criminal act. While the government of Israel as well as our own have done their best to cover up the murder of our sailors, their story is one that must be heard.
On June 8, 1967 the USS Liberty was steaming along in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. The ship was collecting intelligence on the actions of Israeli and Arab troops during the Six Day War. During the morning hours, the ship's crew observed marked Israeli aircraft making low-level flights over the ship. There were in fact, 13 over-flights by several Israeli planes including a lumbering Nord Noratlas ("flying boxcar"). The crew reported being able to see the faces of the Israeli pilots and even exchanging waves.
At 2:00pm, Israeli Mirage III jets began strafing the decks of Liberty with rocket and cannon fire. That action was followed by Mysteres dropping napalm onto her decks. The Israeli jets initially targeted the bridges, communication antennae, and the four .50 caliber machine gun mounts.
About 30 minutes after the planes ended their attack, three Israeli torpedo boats appeared. A total of five torpedoes were launched, with only one hitting. The torpedo struck Liberty just below the water line, leaving a 40 x 40 ft hole in her hull. The strike hit the intercept compartments, killing 25 men instantly. The torpedo boat crews continued to pound the ship with 20mm and 40mm cannon and machine gun fire.
Due to the constant gun bursts coming from the circling torpedo boats, fire control efforts were abandoned. Not only were the sailors being shot, but their firehouses were shot to ribbons and rendered useless.
The USS Liberty took well over 800 rocket and cannon hits. The decks of ship were napalmed twice, leaving all but three rubber life rafts destroyed. At one point, crewmen dropped the remaining rafts into the water, only to have them shot to pieces by Israeli machine gunners.
The attack lasted for two hours, left 34 sailors dead and 171 injured.
Because the ship's antennae were targeted and most destroyed, initial calls for help were impossible. While still under attack, radio crewmen were able to piece together their remaining equipment and contact the nearby Sixth Fleet. Two flights of F-4 Phantoms were launched from the USS Saratoga and USS America both times, Sec. of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the planes return to their ships. Rear Adm. William Geis claimed that he called the Pentagon to ask for confirmation of the second order from McNamara. Geis said that President Johnson came onto the phone line and himself ordered the wing returned.
According to Cdr. David Lewis (a USS Liberty survivor), Adm. Geis told him in private that President Johnson said: "I do not care if every man drowned and the ship sank, we will not embarrass an ally."
Israel claimed that they mistook the Liberty for the Egyptian horse carrier El Quseir. The El Quseir was only 275 feet long as compared to the 455 foot length of the Liberty. It was later learned that the El Quseir was actually in port at Alexandria for the duration of the Six Day War.
The USS Liberty was well marked and flew a large American flag atop her mast. In fact, the official Navy Board of Inquiry report contains the following statement: "The Navy inquiry confirms testimony of five members of the crew that they had personally observed the [American flag] was hoisted. Hull markings were clear and freshly painted."
Despite the official Israeli story of mistaken identity, two Israeli pilots radioed base and clearly identified the ship as American. They were ordered to attack the ship anyway, both refused. The pair was immediately arrested upon returning to base.
In 1982, one of the Israeli pilots named Evan Toni spoke extensively with Rep. Paul McCloskey (R-CA). He told McCloskey that this superiors told him to ignore the markings and U.S. flag. Former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dwight Porter, confirmed the pilot's account. Porter told Robert Novak that he heard the exchange as radio transmissions were being monitored from the embassy.
Capt. Ward Boston USN (ret) served as the senior legal counsel to the U.S. Navy court of inquiry on the USS Liberty incident. In a sworn affidavit taken on Jan. 8, 2004, Capt. Boston said the following: "The evidence was clear. Both Adm. Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack...was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. It was our shared belief that the attack could not possibly have been an accident. I am certain that the Israeli pilots [and] their superiors were well aware that the ship was American."
In 1991, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Thomas Moorer told the Washington Post: "To suggest that they [the IDF] couldn't identify the ship is...ridiculous. Anybody who could not identify the Liberty could not tell the difference between the White House and the Washington Monument."
There are two prevailing theories as to why Israeli forces attacked the Liberty. One is that they would sink the ship and blame it on Egypt, thus prompting the U.S. to enter the war on the side of Israel. That theory is supported by Capt. Ward Boston. The other is that Israel did not want the U.S. to know about the unprovoked attacks their troops were carrying out. Shortly after the liberty was nearly destroyed, Israeli troops began attacking Syria.
In 1980, Sen. Adlai Stevenson III (D-IL) held a press conference at which time he announced his belief that the Israeli attack on the Liberty had not been a tragic accident but a deliberate act. In his last year in the U.S. Senate, Stevenson promised a formal investigation.
Shortly after the Stevenson's announcement, the Israeli government contacted the Carter White House. They offered to settle the damage claims for an insulting $6 million. Vice-President Walter Mondale readily accepted the deal.
It was obvious that the only reason Israel agreed to pay anything was due to Se. Stevenson's interest in the case. Israel did pay the $6 million in three annual payments of $2 million. The payments meant nothing, as Congress simply increased the amount of aid given to Israel by $2 million each of those three years. The American taxpayers were actually billed for the damages inflicted upon their own sailors!
While motives are unclear, the fact that the Johnson and subsequent administrations covered up the attack is very clear. For his actions during the attack, USS Liberty's Capt. William McGonagle was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor at a Washington Navy Yard ceremony. On the very same day that Capt. McGonagle received the medal, President Johnson held a White House ceremony honoring other CMH awardees. McGonagle's citation does not mention that his ship came under attack from Israeli forces.
Much more disgusting than crucial facts deleted from a medal citation is what is omitted from the tombstones of the 34 USS Liberty crewmen who lost their lives in an act of war. Their headstones simply read "Died in Eastern Mediterranean."
The names of the USS Liberty crewmen who were killed while under attack from Israeli forces on June 8, 1967 are as follows:
Lcdr. Phillip McCutcheon Armstrong Jr.
Lt. James Cecil Pierce
Lt. Stephen Spencer Toth
CT3 William Bernard Allenbaugh
SN Gary Ray Blanchard
CT2 Allen Merle Blue
QM3 Francis Brown
CT2 Ronnie Jordan Campbell
CT2 Jerry Leroy Converse
CT2 Robert Burton Eisenberg
CT2 Jerry Lee Goss
CT1 Curtis Alan Graves
CTSN Lawrence Paul Hayden
CT1 Warren Edward Hersey
CT3 Alan Higgins
SN Carl Lewis Hoar
CTS Richard Walter Keene Jr.
CTSN James Lee Lenau
CTC Raymond Eugene Linn
CT1 James Mahlon Lupton
CT3 Duane Rowe Marggraf
CTSN David Walter Marlborough
CT2 Anthony Peter Mendle
CTSN Carl Christian Nyguen
Sgt. Jack Lewis Raper, USMC
Cpl. Edward Emory Kehmeyer III, USMC
IFCN David Skolak
CT1 John Caleb Smith Jr.
CTC Melvin Douglas Smith
PC2 John Clarence Spicher
GMG3 Alexander Neil Thompson Jr.
CT3 Thomas Ray Thornton
CT3 Philippe Charles Tiedthe
CT1 Frederick James Walton
The only thing more outrageous than the deliberate and murderous attack on the USS Liberty by Israel is our own government's compliance in the cover-up. There has never been a Congressional investigation into the circumstances of the attack. The accounts of Liberty survivors, long-serving Navy officers, and a U.S. Ambassador have all fallen upon the deaf ears of the U.S. Congress.
The USS Liberty incident alone is enough to make any rational American re-examine this nation's relationship with Israel.
Regardless of how the corrupt governments of both nations treat this tragedy, no matter how hard they try to cover-up the criminal acts which occurred on June 8, 1967...We must never forget the brave men of the USS Liberty!
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