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View Full Version : Good Morning...American warship attacked by Israelis & naval heroes are made



Okla-homey
6/8/2007, 07:12 AM
June 8, 1967: IDF attacks USS Liberty

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USS Liberty. An intelligence ship equipped with powerful electronic listening devices with translators and intelligence analysts among her crew.

40 years ago today, during the Six-Day War in which Israel was locked in a life and death struggle with a huge pan-Arab force (the subject of a Good Morning installment earlier this week,) Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attack USS Liberty in international waters off Egypt's Gaza Strip.

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The intelligence ship, well-marked as an American vessel and only lightly armed, was attacked first by Israeli aircraft that dropped napalm and fired rockets at the ship. Liberty attempted to radio for assistance, but Israeli electronic warfare systems jammed the transmissions.

Eventually, the ship was able to make contact with the U.S. carrier Saratoga, and 12 fighters and four tanker planes were dispatched to defend Liberty. When word of their deployment reached Washington, however, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered them recalled to the carrier, and they never reached Liberty. The reason for the recall remains unclear.

Back in the Mediterranean, the initial air raid against Liberty was over. Nine of the 294 crewmembers were dead and 60 were wounded. Suddenly, the ship was attacked by Israeli torpedo boats, which launched torpedoes and employed naval gunfire at the ship.

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Snapshot taken aboard Liberty during the Israeli PT boat attack showing Liberty engaged in a high speed turn (21 knots, which was Liberty's top end) attempting to avoid torpedos

Under the command of its wounded captain, William L. McGonagle, Liberty managed to avert four torpedoes, but one struck the ship. Heavily damaged, Liberty launched three lifeboats, but these were also attacked--a violation of international law.

The crew and her skipper's seamanship were amazing testaments to the fighting spirit of the US Navy. The Israelis were among the best in the world and the fact Liberty was not sunk in the relentless attacks was due only to sheer American courage, ability and coolness under fire.

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Failing to sink Liberty, which displaced 10,000 tons, the Israelis finally desisted. In all, 34 Americans were killed and 171 were wounded in the two-hour attack. In the attack's aftermath, Liberty managed to limp to a safe port.

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Liberty in port after the attack.

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Liberty's Israeli torpedo damage.

Israel later apologized for the attack and offered $6.9 million in compensation, claiming that it had mistaken Liberty for an Egyptian ship. However, Liberty survivors, and some former U.S. officials, believe that the attack was deliberate, staged to conceal Israel's pending seizure of Syria's Golan Heights, which occurred the next day. This view was bolstered by the fact Liberty broke out exceptionally large American flags on her deck and from her superstructure once she was attacked.

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Scarred, napalm-scorched and seriously damaged Liberty amid post-attack recovery efforts

The real reason she was attacked is likely because the ship's listening devices would likely have overheard Israeli military communications planning this controversial operation. Israel desperately needed a decisive military success on the Egyptian front during the brief but devastating Six Day War and could not afford to take the chance that word of her intended advance through the Sinai might be shared with her Egyptian enemy. That certainly did not justify the attack because there was no evidence we were helping Cairo...but perhaps it helps explain it. In fact, to call Israel paranoid in 1967 is probably an understatement given the fact the whole region was taking up arms against her and bent on her destruction.

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Captain, then Commander, Bill McGonagle in his sea cabin in port after the attack. Note the shrapnel-induced extra ventilation in his cabin bulkhead to the right of and beneath the port hole.

Wichita, KS native Captain McGonagle was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic command of Liberty during and after the attack. He died in 1999 and is buried at Arlington.

Captain McGonagle's MOH Citation follows:


McGONAGLE, WILLIAM L.

Rank and organization: Captain (then Commander) U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Liberty(AGTR 5). place and date: International waters, Eastern Mediterranean, 8-9 June 1967. Entered service at: Thermal, California. Born: 19 November 1925, Wichita, Kansas.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sailing in international waters, Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew and caused extreme damage to the ship. Although severely wounded during the first air attack, Capt. McGonagle remained at his battle station on the badly damaged bridge and, with full knowledge of the seriousness of his wounds, subordinated his own welfare to the safety and survival of his command.

Steadfastly refusing any treatment which would take him away from his post, he calmly continued to exercise firm command of his ship. Despite continuous exposure to fire, he maneuvered his ship, directed its defense, supervised the control of flooding and fire, and saw to the care of the casualties. Captain McGonagle's extraordinary valor under these conditions inspired the surviving members of Liberty's crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the battle damage and keep the ship afloat.

Subsequent to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than 17 hours. It was only after rendezvous with a U.S. destroyer that he relinquished personal control of Liberty and permitted himself to be removed from the bridge. Even then, he refused much needed medical attention until convinced that the seriously wounded among his crew had been treated.

Captain McGonagle's superb professionalism, courageous fighting spirit, and valiant leadership saved his ship and many lives. His actions sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

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Bill McGonagle is buried at Arlington amid several of his crew killed in action on this day in 1967.

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stoopified
6/8/2007, 07:17 AM
I was right again,man I'm good at this.Turn this into a gameshow called THIS DAY IN HISTORY,I'd be a rich man.