Remembering the Crew of USS Liberty (AGTR 5)

On June 8 1967, the USS LIBERTY (AGTR 5) was attacked in international water by Israeli forces killing 34 Americans and wounding another 171. Seven out of every 10 crew members was either killed or injured.

CT3 William B. Allenbaugh, USN LCDR Philip M. Armstrong, Jr. USN SN Gary R. Blanchard, USN Allen M. Blue, NSA Civilian (CT2 Reserve) SN Francis Brown, USN CT2 Ronnie J. Campbell, USN CT3 Jerry L. Converse, USN CT2 Robert B. Eisenberg, USN CT3 Jerry L. Goss, USN CTI Curtis A. Graves, USN CTSN Lawrence P. Hayden, USN CTI Warren E. Hersey, USN CTSN Alan Higgins, USN SN Carl L. Hoar, USN CT2 Richard W. Keene, Jr., USN CTSN James L. Lenau, USN CTC Raymond E. Linn, USN CTI James M. Lupton, USN CT3 Duane R. Marggraf, USN CTSN David W. Marlborough, USN CT2 Anthony P. Mendle, USN CTSN Carl C. Nygren, USN LT James C. Pierce, USN ICFN David Skolak, USN CTI John C. Smith, Jr., USN CTC Melvin D. Smith, USN PC2 John C. Spicher, USN GMG3 Alexander N. Thompson, Jr., USN CT3 Thomas R. Thornton, USN CT3 Philippe C. Tiedtke, USN LT Stephen S. Toth, USN CTI Frederick J. Walton, USN Sgt Jack L. Raper, USMC Cpl Edward E. Rehmeyer, USMC

24 May 1967. U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) orders USS Liberty, an intelligence-gathering vessel, to depart Abidjan for eastern Mediterranean, via Rota, Spain.

1 June 1967. Commanded by Capt. William McGonagle, Liberty arrives at Rota to load technical support material and supplies.

2 June 1967. Liberty departs Rota at top speed of 18 knots en route to a point 13 miles off the Gaza Strip, well within international waters.

5 June 1967, 7:45 (all times cited are local Liberty time). Israel attacks Egypt, simultaneously putting out false reports that Egypt had attacked first. Captain McGonagle asks Vice Admiral William Martin at Sixth Fleet headquarters to send a destroyer as an armed escort and auxiliary communication center, noting that Liberty’s “self-defense capability limited to four .50 caliber machine guns and small arms.”

6 June 1967. Admiral Martin replies “Liberty is clearly marked United States ship in international waters, not a participant in the conflict and not a reasonable subject for attack by any nation . . . Request for escort denied.”

0603: Reconnaissance aircraft reports to Israeli naval headquarters that “GTR-5” is written on the ship, identifying it as an NSA intelligence vessel.

0900: Jet aircraft approaches Liberty, then veers off towards Gaza. Liberty crewmen unable to identify markings.

1000: Two unmarked, rocket-armed, delta-winged jets circle Liberty three times. Liberty officers can count rockets and see the pilots, but see no identifying marks on the plane. The jets radio Israeli headquarters that the ship is flying an American flag.

1030: Israeli “flying boxcar” with Israeli markings circles Liberty at about 200 feet. Crew member Larry Weaver says, “I was actually able to wave to the co-pilot, a fellow on the right-hand side of the plane. He waved back, and actually smiled at me.”

1055: Pinchas Pinchasy, naval liaison officer at Israeli air force headquarters, reports to Naval Headquarters that the ship cruising slowly off El Arish is “an electromagnetic audio-surveillance ship of the U.S. Navy, named Liberty, whose marking was GTR-5.”

1205: Three Israeli motor torpedo boats leave Ashdod at high speed headed toward Liberty. They are followed by Israeli air force fighters, loaded with 30mm cannon ammunition, rockets, and napalm.

1358: Two unmarked delta-winged Mirage jets attack Liberty. After taking out gun mounts, they target ship’s antennae and bridge with heat-seeking missiles.

1405: Three unmarked Dassault Mystère IIIC jets attack with napalm and rockets. Ship tries to contact Sixth Fleet headquarters, but five of Liberty’s six shore circuits are jammed. Radio operator manages to send distress signal from Captain McGonagle: “Under attack by unidentified jet aircraft, require immediate assistance.” Attack lasts approximately 22 minutes, involving 30 to 35 sorties, killing nine men and wounding around 60. Israeli pilot reports to base: “Great, wonderful, she’s burning, she’s burning.”

1409: Captain Joe Tully of the USS Saratoga acknowledges call for help, dispatches four F-4 Phantom jets, and informs Liberty that help is on the way. Within minutes U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara orders rescue jets to return: “Tell Sixth Fleet to get those aircraft back immediately.” Rear Admiral Geis relays message and tells them to re-launch jets in 90 minutes.

1424: Three French-built 62-ton Israeli motor torpedo boats approach Liberty in attack formation. Because the Israeli fighters had destroyed the American flag, Captain McGonagle orders the signalman to hoist the “holiday ensign,” the largest flag the ship has.

1435: Torpedo boats launch five German-made 19-inch torpedoes at Liberty. One torpedo strikes starboard directly into NSA area, accounting for 25 of the 34 men who would be killed. Torpedo boats then circle, machine-gunning the ship with armor-piercing projectiles for another 40 minutes.

1450: Commander of Sixth Fleet orders carriers USS America and USS Saratoga to send aircraft to defend Liberty.

1500: NSA SIGINT Command Center receives first notice of the attack from either the America or Saratoga: “USS Liberty has been reportedly torpedoed by unknown source in Med near 32N 33E. Request examine all communications for possible reaction/reflections and report accordingly.”

1505: Message sent to Liberty from Sixth Fleet: “Sending aircraft to cover you. Surface units on the way.” Liberty is off the air and does not receive the message.

1511: First “official” notice that Liberty is under attack reaches National Military Command Center in Washington.

1515: After the order to “prepare to abandon ship” comes over the loudspeaker system, the lifeboats are lowered into the water. Israeli torpedo boats move in closer and fire on them, as well as those still on deck, making them all unusable. “I watched with horror as the floating life rafts were riddled with holes,” recalled Lieutenant Lloyd Painter, in charge of the evacuation. Said Petty Officer Rowley, who also witnessed the event: “They didn’t want anyone to live.” After destroying the life rafts, the Israeli boats departed. Next, two Israeli SA-321 Super Frelon Hornet assault helicopters carrying soldiers in battle dress circle ship several times, then depart.

1520: Commander of Sixth Fleet announces that 12 aircraft will be launched at 1545 to arrive nearLiberty at 1715.

1532: Walt Rostow, President Johnson’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, notifies the president of the attack.

1600: Liberty transmits: “Flash, flash, flash. I pass in the blind. We are under attack by aircraft and high-speed surface craft.” Deputy Director Louis Tordella is informed by Deputy Director of Joint Reconnaissance Center, Captain Vineyard, that “consideration was then being given by some unnamed Washington authorities to sink theLiberty in order that newspaper men would be unable to photograph her and thus inflame public opinion against the Israelis.” Tordella makes an “impolite” comment about the idea, writes a memo of the conversation for the record, and stores it away.

1605: Liberty transmits: “Request immediate assistance. Torpedo hit starboard side.”

1614: American embassy relays Israeli apology to White House, Department of State, and Sixth Fleet that an unidentified “maybe Navy” ship has been erroneously attacked.

1630: Israeli jets and three torpedo boats return, offer assistance. Captain McGonagle refuses their help. Boats leave after 12 minutes.

1639: Secretary of Defense McNamara again orders rescue planes recalled; order is confirmed by President Johnson because “we are not going to embarrass an ally.” Naval Air Attaché at U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Commander Ernest Castle, is summoned to Israeli Defense Forces headquarters.

1717: Deputy Secretary of Defense orders that all news releases on attack are to be made in Washington. Soon after, Israeli helicopter approaches Liberty and requests permission to land. McGonagle refuses. Helicopter departs.

1729: Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis, commander of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, protests decision to recall rescue planes to Secretary of Defense McNamara. At that point President Johnson comes on the phone and says he didn’t care if the ship sunk, he would not embarrass his allies. Admiral Geis tells Lt. Commander David Lewis, head of the Liberty’s NSA group, of the remark, but asks him not to repeat it until after he dies. It is a promise Lewis will honor.

1915: Captain McGonagle, wounded and exhausted, dictates first report on estimated casualties: 10 dead; 15 severely wounded; 75 total wounded; undetermined missing. His estimates would prove low.

After midnight: Soviet guided missile destroyer sends flashing-light message in English: “Do you need help?” Liberty responds: “No thank you.” Soviets answer: “I will stand by in case you need me.”

1450: Israeli Lt. Col. Michael Bloch telephones Commander Castle that Liberty, because it was not flying a flag, had been mistaken for the Egyptian supply ship El Queseir. State Department assures Congress that attack was accidental.

10 June 1967: Vice Admiral McCain orders Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd to convene Navy Court of Inquiry.

11 June 1967: Admiral Kidd boards Liberty with small staff to head Navy Court of Inquiry.

14 June 1967: Liberty arrives in Malta. Total news blackout imposed. Rear Admiral Kidd warns crew: “You are never, repeat never, to discuss this with anyone, not even your wives. If you do, you will be court-martialed and will end your lives in prison or worse.” Secretary of Defense McNamara informs media that, “Department of Defense will have no further comment.”

15 June 1967: Secretary of State Dean Rusk tells NATO ambassadors in Luxembourg that Israel’s attack was deliberate. His remark is reported in European, but not U.S. papers.

18 June 1967: Israeli Court of Inquiry exonerates Israeli government and all those involved, saying that its torpedo boats erroneously reported the Liberty’s speed at 30 knots instead of 5, and that the Liberty flew no flag and had no identifying markings. Later, Israel will honor Motor Torpedo Boat 203, the one that fired the deadly torpedo at the Liberty, by putting its wheel and bell on display in its naval museum, among those maritime items of which it is most proud.

July 1967: Shortly after the burial of six Liberty crewmen in Arlington National Cemetery, a monument is erected describing the six as having “Died in the Eastern Mediterranean.” Liberty survivors complain that the marking is evasive and improper.

September 1967: State Department legal adviser Carl Salans finds many discrepancies with the Israeli report. His report is classified Top Secret.

11 June 1968: Captain McGonagle is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Medal, usually presented by the President of the United States at the White House, is presented by the Secretary of the Navy during a hastily arranged ceremony at the Washington D.C. Navy Yard. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, the Chief of Naval Operations, calls the way the Medal is presented a back-handed slap. “Everyone else received their medal at the White House,” Moorer will later observe. “President Johnson must have been concerned about the reaction of the Israeli lobby.”

28 June 1968: The Liberty was decommissioned and stricken for Naval vessels register.

December 1970: The Liberty was transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal.

1973: Liberty was sold for scrapping to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland.

I’ve heard a similar story from the Israeli side.

But more specifically that President Johnson was effectively at war with swamp, very much like Trump, and the swamp wanted Israel destroyed. The NSA and State Department was actively helping the Arabs against direct orders of President Johnson.

So President Johnson Okayed an attack on the NSA boat thinking that the Israelis would sink it with all hands and all witnesses. But Israel chose a half measure.

Again, FWIW. I don’t have any more special knowledge than anyone.

But the above seems very logical.

I actually met an injured survivor of the Liberty at Class A school in Pensacola Florida NCTC. He was a Petty Officer second class. I don’t remember his name.

I think you are correct.

That is the prevailing rumor in Israel.

I didn’t believe it until I watched the State Department under Trump so actively oppose him in an attempt to destroy Israel. It was eye opening how much the elites hate us.

Anyway, people forget Johnson was a committed Zionist, whatever his other flaws.

“who said they were spying for Egypt? or in Israeli waters?”

So far, you’re the only one who has said that with your question.

While most of the nation and Government has been pro-Israel since 1948, there has always been a powerful element in our Government dead set against it. The epicenter seems to be the State Department…but it has spread across the ALPHABET organizations…

>Need to research that statement. I was 12 at the time & don’t recall that being part of the narrative...

It is basically irrelevant. Nasser blockaded Israel’s port of Eilat at the Strait of Tiran on May 22, an act of war. The narrative above seems to have skipped that fine point.

You can see at several points somebody in Washington wanted it to happen, probably to gain intelligence in a very unintelligent way.

You have to remember that Eisenhower came out against Israel and the British in 1956, hardly the act of an ally. The US-Israeli alliance dates from Nixon in 1973 and not earlier.

27 posted on 06/10/2021 9:57:28 AM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (White Privilege does NOT begin with Being White but when you ACT "WHITE"! So, -- ACT "WHITE"!)

Thanks for posting.

Imho, Robert McNamara was a pos, and deserved the lowest circle of Dante’s hell.

5.56mm

5 June 1967, 7:45 (all times cited are local Liberty time). Israel attacks Egypt, simultaneously putting out false reports that Egypt had attacked first.

Stopped reading at that lie. Israel was attacked on all fronts that day. I'm pretty certain that the Liberty was misidentified, not knowingly targeted as an American ship.

God Bless the crew of the Liberty, living and dead; but don't use them to try to spread hatred of Israel.

How could the Liberty log be the source of when or if Egypt attacked?

Information — and misleading information — is included from outside sources.

Also key omissions, like omitting the blockade of Israeli port, which was the initial act of war.

I agree something hinkey happened here — and I am an Israeli pilot —- we study this attack as a major screw up — no probably THE major screw up of our new military. Run simulations to prevent it.

But adding demonstratively false information is not useful.

It was intentional, and in fact planned with the assistance of LBJ. The captain was ordered to bring his ship to the exact spot where they were hit. Remember they were going to blame the Arabs for this.

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