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| Beth Emley/Messenger Post Staff | June 06, 2002 |
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Posted on 06/07/2002 5:56:44 PM PDT by RCW2001
| 'No one ever apologized' |
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John Hrankowski will be miles away from Arlington National Cemetery this weekend, but he will be close in spirit as fellow crewmates from the USS Liberty gather to remember the 35th anniversary of an Israeli attack on an American intelligence ship.
The Greece man said his health is preventing him from attending the "No Greater Love Remembrance Ceremony" Saturday in Washington, D.C., where crewmates will pause to remember the 34 who died and 172 wounded during the June 8, 1967 air and sea attack. The attack occurred during the Six Day War between Israel and the Arab states.
"It's got to be rectified because we didn't get killed. We're still here," said Hrankowski, who was 19 at the time of the attack and earned a Purple Heart for wounds he suffered.
The attack is controversial because Israel claimed it mistook the USS Liberty for an out-of-service Egyptian horse carrier El Quseir and that the U.S. was operating in a war zone without displaying a flag.
Hrankowski and other Americans dispute that account. They say the ship was in international waters, away from fighting, and that the American flag was flying.
Ever since the USS Liberty Veterans Association formed 20 years ago, Hrankowski - the only known USS Liberty survivor in Monroe County and one of only a few in the state - has been an outspoken advocate, talking to groups all over the country to tell the full story.
"Our government said Israel apologized and paid, but the Israelis have not answered and no one ever apologized," Hrankowski said.
According to information on the USS Liberty website, Lyndon Johnson in his memoirs called the attack "a tragic accident." Robert McNamara, his secretary of defense, stated "I didn't believe [the attack] was intended at the time, and I don't believe it now."
But Dean Rusk, Johnson's secretary of state, differed, saying: "I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it to this day. The attack was outrageous."
Hrankowski, 55, still suffers from post traumatic stress disorder because of wounds he suffered from being hit by metal pieces from explosives during the attack.
A former deputy sheriff with the Monroe County Court system, he left work because of his health 10 years ago. Over the past 10 years, he's endured colon surgery and a heart attack - in addition to the ongoing mental trauma.
"There's not a night I've slept a full night," said Hrankowski.
Hrankowski was 21 when he was discharged from the Navy in November of 1969 and returned to Rochester with his wife, Mary Ann, whom he married a few months before getting out of the service.
Hrankowski said for years, there wasn't much publicity about the attack until the early 1980s, when the Veterans Association formed.
During that time period, survivor Jim Ennes, an officer who witnessed the attack, wrote "Assault on the Liberty," which tells the story.
Since then, another book, "Body of Secrets," was written by another survivor, James Bamford, and a History Channel special called "Cover-up Attack on the USS Liberty," was aired four times this year.
A European film about the USS Liberty is about to be released, along with a book written by a Pulitzer-prize winning author, Hrankowski said.
Hrankowski and other veterans traveled to Washington earlier this year to talk to U.S. congressmen about the incident. He said there could be hearings in the future, but nothing is definite yet.
Because of the anniversary of the attack, Hrankowski said he's been deluged with requests for interviews from the local and national media, including MSNBC and CNN.
Hrankowski said publicity helps the cause, but what veterans want is full disclosure to Congress.
"All we want is to have everything released," he said. "We're just asking them to give us a shot like every other incident and have it documented for history and let us be on our way."
For more information on the USS Liberty attack, go to the website at www.ussliberty.org. The website was created by Jim Ennes and Joe Meadors, two survivors of the attack.
It looked a lot like this one, and if I remember correctly, had the same or a very similar title. It included statements from all concerned parties, including members of the US congress, etc. It presented a very balanced view which your link, imho, does not.
I do not see the purpose in bringing up the Liberty at this time, except perhaps in driving a wedge into US public support for Israel in the middle east conflict. That is of benefit to the Palestinians. Reading these documents on your link, there was error on the part of the US, as well. Don't believe me, read the link you posted.
I don't intend to argue, only to state my opinion. Flame away, it won't bother me. My only purpose in posting here is to express, as I said, what I think.
"BS"? You mean this didn't happen? The US Navy imagined the dead and wounded from this attack?
And you being a Isreali lover won't protect you from attack by the Israeli's.
You're right. He and the others,along with their families,should just go and put some ice on it. After all,it's not like they were "chosen people",or anything. They are just lousy Americans.
Everything LBJ ever did in his whole disgusting life was shameful.
You're right. It was only Americans who were murdered. No big deal,right?
Steal a Life.
Isn't this what the Israeli's did multiple times that day? Granted,they were only American lives,but technically they were still people,right? Or do you disagree with them being people?
Maybe,but even a stopped clock is right twice a day,and when it is right,it is right.
I got banned for 3 days by Israeli-Firsters for crossing them on a thread about Israeli's with dual US/Israeli citizenship holding commissions in the Israeli Army,while never having served a day in the US Army,despite living and getting wealthy in the US. They complained to some unnammed Moderator,and I was banned for "posting anti-Semitic remarks" (a damn lie!) and "flame-baiting",which seems to be telling the plain truth that pisses people off.
Uh,OH! You've done it now,dude! This is the same thing I got banned for saying.
Many people are extremely sensitive to any criticism of Israel. I have noticed that here on FR. It's understandable in light of what the Israeli Jews have been up against. However, no one is perfect, and it's never a good idea to try to hide things like what happened to the Liberty. It means a lot to the men who were on board that ship and to their families.
Why did Lyndon Johnson and the American news media and others conspire to prevent a proper investigation of this incident?Why did Israel get a pass that no other nation would have received?
Perhaps the answers to those questions would affect our perceptions of today's conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
I mention this because it seems to me the average FReeper of today wasn't born in 1964...
We had a couple of wars with Britain that cost the lives of many, many patriots. They even put the White House to the torch! Today they are our closest friends and allies. Germany, we fought two, TWO, world wars against these people, today they our our friends. Russia, the main enemy of the USA from the end of WW2 until a few years ago, today they are our friends. We fought a horrendous war with Vietnam with the loss of 50,000 men less than 30 years ago. Today we trade with them and some vets even go back there to tour the battlefields. Why aren't you outraged about all these other countries that did a hell of a lot more damage to the US than one incident that happened years ago with Israel? It is so obvious. The only difference is the people were Jews, right? You can forget and forgive any and all people but not the Jews, right? If you are a supporter of Islamic terror, why don't you just come out and say it and quit trying to hide your hatred of Jews behind this sad story that happened long ago.
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