[1:08:33]
'The USS Liberty': America's Most Shameful Secret
by Eric S. Margolis
NEW YORK – On the fourth day of the 1967 Arab Israeli War, the intelligence ship 'USS Liberty' was steaming slowly in international waters, 14 miles off the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli armored forces were racing deep into Sinai in hot pursuit of the retreating Egyptian army.
'Liberty,' a World War II freighter, had been converted into an intelligence vessel by the top-secret US National Security Agency, and packed with the latest signals and electronic interception equipment. The ship bristled with antennas and electronic 'ears' including TRSSCOMM, a system that delivered real-time intercepts to Washington by bouncing a stream of microwaves off the moon.
'Liberty' had been rushed to Sinai to monitor communications of the belligerents in the Third Arab Israeli War: Israel and her foes, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
At 0800 hrs, 8 June, 1967, eight Israeli recon flights flew over 'Liberty,' which was flying a large American flag. At 1400 hrs, waves of low-flying Israeli Mystere and Mirage-III fighter-bombers repeatedly attacked the American vessel with rockets, napalm, and cannon. The air attacks lasted 20 minutes, concentrating on the ship's electronic antennas and dishes. The 'Liberty' was left afire, listing sharply. Eight of her crew lay dead, a hundred seriously wounded, including the captain, Commander William McGonagle.
At 1424 hrs, three Israeli torpedo boats attacked, raking the burning 'Liberty' with 20mm and 40mm shells. At 1431hrs an Israeli torpedo hit the 'Liberty' midship, precisely where the signals intelligence systems were located. Twenty-five more Americans died.
My college dorm mate was one of the four radio operators on duty when the torpedo struck the ship in the compartment directly below the radio room. He can be heard near the beginning of the video: "Everybody in the space I worked in died - except me!"
When the torpedo exploded it tore the floor open in the radio room, killing the other three operators and throwing my dorm mate out the door into the corridor.
We would sit up at night as he told me of the attack. Of how he was in contact with the attacking Israeli pilots, telling them it was an American ship. Of how the planes made several low altitude passes before attacking.
He told me of the cover up of the incident, of how he was sworn to silence, but was refusing to remain silent. This was not an accident as the Israeli and American Governments claimed.
We often sat up late into the night as he dreaded going to sleep, the nightmares were frequent and terrifying, often he would wake up screaming, drenched in sweat.
USS Liberty Memorial SiteMoorer Commission FindingsIf Americans Knew - The USS LibertyUSS Liberty Veterans Association ReportOpen letter to the United States Congress by the survivors of the USS Liberty A false flag operation?Additional Links.....h/t..
Big Dan
