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Attack on the Liberty. 34 American Servicemen Killed 171 Wounded Congress Has Never Investigated. The USS Liberty. Lightly-armed “spy ship” outfitted with sophisticated, long-range listening devices.
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Attack on the Liberty 34 American Servicemen Killed 171 Wounded Congress Has Never Investigated
The USS Liberty • Lightly-armed “spy ship” outfitted with sophisticated, long-range listening devices. • Intercepted foreign electronic messages for analysis at National Security Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.
May, 1967 • Dispatched to Mediterranean because of rising tensions between Israel & Egypt. • Liberty requests destroyer escort. Denied: “Liberty is a clearly marked U.S. ship in international waters. … Not a reasonable subject for attack by any nation,” replies Admiral Martin.
June 7, 1967(shortly before midnight) • Office of US Defense Attaché in Tel Aviv sends coded message to NSA that Israel intends to attackLiberty if her course is not changed.
June 8, 1967 • US initially responds (0030) by ordering Liberty to go from 12 ½ to 20 miles off coast. Message misdirected to Philippines and never reaches Liberty. • US then (0130) instructs Liberty to go no closer than 100 miles from the coasts of Egypt & Israel. Due to misrouting, the message takes 16 ½ hours to reach Liberty.
0600: Israeli “flying boxcar.” 0900: Jet approaches Liberty, then veers off toward Gaza. 1000: Two rocket-armed jets circle Liberty three times. 1030: Israeli “flying boxcar” circles Liberty at 200 feet. Sailor on deck and co-pilot exchange waves. 1100, 1130, 1215, and 1245: Further reconnaissance flights. (Eight since 0600.) June 8, 4th Day of War
Reconnaissance aircraft report to Israeli headquarters that “GTR-5” is written on the ship, identifying it as a NSA intelligence vessel. A clear, sunny day. Fresh US flag raised at 0720. Israeli Naval headquarters receives report from Israeli Air Force headquarters that the ship is “an audio surveillance ship of the U.S. Navy, named Liberty . . . “ Did Israel Know?
Admiral Thomas Moorer • “To suggest that they (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.” —Washington Post, 15 June 1991.
The Attack • 1358: Two Mirage jets attack, first taking out gun mounts, then targeting antennae and bridge with heat-seeking missiles. • 1405: Three Mystere jets attack with napalm and rockets. Attackers also attempt to jam Liberty’s radio circuits, but request for assistance reaches Sixth Fleet.
The Attack (continued) • 1435: Three torpedo boats launch five torpedoes, one striking starboard, where 25 of the 34 men perish. Boats then circle, machine-gunning the Liberty with armor piercing projectiles for another 40 minutes. Attackers deliberately destroy deployed lifeboats.
The Attack: Summary • After two hours of intense attack, Israelis realize they are unable to sink the Liberty and leave no survivors to tell the tale. They fear, too, that rescue aircraft from the Sixth Fleet are on the way. Now they offer support to the survivors. Commander McGonagle, badly wounded, refuses. Losses: 34 killed, 171 wounded.
Aborting Rescue • Minutes after first attack, carrier Saratoga dispatches 12 fighter-bombers to Liberty’s aid only to be instructed to recall them. • Carriers America and Saratoga were told to launch again in 90 minutes. When they did so, aircraft were again recalled.
Why? Why? Why? • Admiral Lawrence Geis has attributed the abort orders to Secretary of Defense McNamara. After McNamara ordered call-back of second launch, Geis asked for confirmation from McNamara’s superior. President Lyndon Johnson then came on the line and said the launches were canceled because “we are not going to embarrass an ally.”
Sr. Legal Counsel to Naval Court of Inquiry into the attack. Silent on the matter until Jan., 2004. He and Adm. Isaac Kidd, president of the Court of Inquiry, given one week. Denied permission to go to Israel or contact Israelis. Took hours of “heartbreaking” testimony from young survivors. Ward Boston
Survivor Larry Weaver • Airlifted, near death, to USS America, for 1st of 26 major surgeries. • Sent to Philadelphia Naval Hospital for recovery. • After 4 days in intensive care, interviewed by an Admiral.
Pres. Johnson and Sec. McNamara ordered inquiry to conclude attack was a case of “mistaken identity.” Saw American flag riddled with bullet holes. Heard testimony making it clear Israel intended no survivors. Concluded (with Adm. Kidd), on basis of documentary evidence and testimony, that attack was deliberate. Boston’s 2004 Statement
Eyewitnesses Ignored “Never before in the history of the US Navy has a Navy Board of Inquiry ignored the testimony of military eyewitnesses and taken, on faith, the word of their attackers.” --Capt. Richard F. Kiepfer, USS Liberty Survivor
James E. Ennes, Jr. • On the bridge during seven of the eight reconnaissance flights. • Defied gag order after leaving service to write “Assault on the Liberty” using interview notes compiled over 12 years. • The book, published in 1979, died in the bookstalls, a victim of silent black-balling. Washington Post had early favorable review, then refused to publish a paid ad.
LVA: The More Time That Passes… • … The number of Americans won over by our story increases. • … More prominent Americans will be speaking out against the cover-up. • … The day nears when USS Liberty crew, families and supporters will find reality in the CIA motto: “Truth will prevail.”
