53rd anniversary since Israeli false flag attack on USS Liberty

USS LIBERTY: 53 YEARS 

AGO TODAY ISRAEL 

BETRAYED AMERICA, 

KILLING 34 SAILORS

Congress Never Investigated This Atrocity, But TruNews Digs Down Deep With ‘Sacrificing Liberty’ Docu-Series.

Tru News,

18 June, 2020

At 11 p.m. EDT Sunday, June 7, 1967—5 a.m. local time—USS Liberty was parked off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula, listening to the actions taken by both sides in the Six Day War, but just five hours later, its unsuspecting crew would find itself in the midst of a nightmare scenario.

In the 11 p.m. log entry, Officer of the Deck Ens. J.D. Scott records the American ship’s position as being 12.5 miles north of Port Said at the entrance to the Suez Canal. It was an otherwise normal day for the crew of the USS Liberty, but soon, events would unfold that they can never forget to this day.

USS Liberty was a Belmont-class “technical research ship,” the official designation given to electronic surveillance ships. She was originally built to serve during World War II as a Victory-class cargo and transport ship and was converted to her Cold War role over a two-year period beginning in February of 1963.

In her new role, she was not a combatant ship. As a result, she was armed only with the following “standoff” weapons—those meant to repel boarders:

One (1) 5-inch gun

One (1) 3-inch gun

Eight (8) 20-milimeter Oerlikon autocannons

Four (4) .50-caliber M2 machine guns

The following is a timeline of the events on June 8, taken from the ship’s logs, survivors’ accounts, and military reports:

4:56 a.m. Monday, June 8 — USS Liberty spots a ‘boxcar’ plan with the Star of David emblazoned on its wings and photographers onboard, flying low over the surveillance ship. The American sailors rest easy, seeing their allies watching over their perilous patrol.

5:32 a.m. — Cryptologic Technician 2nd Class Robert Burton Eisenberg, USS Liberty’s Hebrew linguist, tells CT2 Larry Bowen that he’s intercepted Israeli radio traffic of an impending attack against “the target.” He notes: “Somebody’s gonna get it.”

5:55 a.m. — Engineman 2nd Class William LeMay sees explosions at el-Arish, Egypt. The USS Liberty crew quietly cheers and celebrates the apparent successful attack on the Arab forces led by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

7:10 a.m. — USS Liberty’s skipper, Cdr. William McGonagle, orders the crew to “man your battle stations.” He was conducting a surprise General Quarters drill that simulated a chemical weapons attack.

7:41 a.m. — Three Israeli motor torpedo boats have detected USS Liberty and identified her as their primary target. The boats begin moving in to intercept the American surveillance ship.

7:58 a.m. — USS Liberty is under attack. LeMay sees two Mirage III fighter jets strafing the ship with their heavy cannons. McGonagle orders his crew to once again “man your battle stations”—except this time it’s not a drill.

8:02 a.m. — Israeli Air Force pilot call-sign “Royal” begins his second strike run down the middle of his target, designated “Charlie-Tango-Romeo 5.” CTR5 is the USS Liberty. Royal orders his wingman to drop napalm on the American ship’s deck.

8:03 a.m. — Shipfitter 3rd Class Phil Tourney narrowly escapes a large explosion on USS Liberty’s port side. He feverishly scrambles down the starboard ladder to shield himself from the death raining down on the American ship from the Israeli jets above.

8:05 a.m. — The Israeli motor torpedo boats communicate to their commanders in Tel Aviv, stating they have a positive identification of USS Liberty as an “enemy ship.” They are ordered to fire their torpedoes in order to sink the American ship.

8:09 a.m. — Electronics Technician 3rd Class Terry Halbardier, USS Liberty’s radioman, successfully restores the ship’s communications antennae. The American surveillance vessel gets out a “Mayday” call to the rest of the U.S. 6th Fleet: “FIREFOX, FIREFOX, this is ROCKSTAR! ROCKSTAR under attack by unidentified surface and naval air units!”

8:10 a.m. — Task Force 60 flagship USS Saratoga responds to USS Liberty’s mayday call. The aircraft carrier’s commander, Capt. Joseph Tully, scrambles 12 conventionally armed American fighter jets.

8:11 a.m. — The first of USS Saratoga’s jet aircraft takes off to answer USS Liberty’s call for help.

8:12 a.m. — An Israeli pilot aboard a Mystere IV fighter-bomber drops his napalm canisters on the deck of USS Liberty, effectively cooking the exposed and defenseless American sailors who were “topside” at the time.

8:13 a.m. — Israeli forces confirm they have been attacking an American ship, but they keep up their attacks.

8:31 a.m. — The Israeli motor torpedo boats approach USS Liberty, getting close enough that its crew can make out their Star of David flags. The Americans brace for a torpedo attack.

8:32 a.m. — Rear Adm. Raymond Geis assumes tactical command of Task Force 60 from Tully and recalls USS Saratoga’s aircraft. His order leaves USS Liberty to stand alone against the Israeli onslaught.

8:35 a.m. — USS Liberty reports it’s been hit by an Israeli torpedo and requests immediate assistance. Tourney says the ship is listing, but “the hand of God” is holding her up above water.

8:38 a.m. — USS Liberty is taking on water and 65 to 70 of her sailors are trapped inside her ruptured hull.

8:50 a.m. — U.S. 6th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. William Martin scrambles four fighters from USS America to protect USS Liberty.

8:54 a.m. — Cryptologic Technician Seaman Bob Scarborough and other surviving USS Liberty crewmembers cling for dear life to overhead pipes as the ship continues to take on water.

8:55 a.m. — The Israeli motor torpedo boats begin shooting the life rafts deployed by the crew of USS Liberty.

9 a.m. — President Lyndon Johnson orders USS America to recall its “damned aircraft” sent to save USS Liberty. He says: “I don’t care if the ship sinks and all the sailors are killed, I will not embarrass my ally.”

9:05 a.m. — U.S. 6th Fleet Command recalls all fighter aircraft sent by USS America.

9:08 a.m. — Israeli commandos, “armed to the teeth,” begin approaching USS Liberty aboard helicopters. The Americans prepare to “repel boarders” with whatever weapons they can muster.

9:10 a.m. — USS Liberty’s crew is desperately trying to unlock the ship’s armory lockers to arm themselves to repel the Israeli commandos. Tourney realizes Gunners’ Mate 3rd Class Alexander Thompson, who holds the key to the locker, is dead. He resorts to using his middle fingers to deter the boarders.

Noon — USS Liberty still has not received help from the U.S. 6th Fleet. McGonagle continues to command the ship from the bridge, sending out pleas for help despite being wounded by the Israeli cannons and explosive shrapnel.

After the attack ended, the surviving crew were able to leave the area under USS Liberty’s own power. Once it returned to port, the ship’s damage survey included the following:

a hole 39 by 24 feet in the port side,

keel twisted by detonation of torpedo that struck amidships, and

821 rocket, shell, and machine gun holes in the ship’s hull.

In the end, USS Liberty lost 34 of its crew, and another 171 were wounded. Six were so badly burned, they could not be identified and were buried in a mass grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

McGonagle was awarded the Medal of Honor, but it was given to him by the Secretary of the Navy at the Washington Navy Yard, rather than by the President at the White House—the only time the medal was awarded in that manner. The rest of the crew was awarded:

Eleven (11) Silver Stars,

Twenty (20) Bronze Stars, and

More than two hundred (200+) Purple Hearts.

McGonagle continued to serve in the Navy until his retirement in 1974. He also commanded USS Kilauea, the lead ship of her class of ammunition transport ships. After his death in 1999, he was buried, with full military honors, near several of his former crew members at Arlington National Cemetery.

Both the U.S. and Israel investigated the incident and presented their findings, which both concluded the incident was accidental. The survivors say there’s no way it could have been anything but a deliberate attack.

To that end, they’ve demanded President Donald Trump look into the matter more fully. Bowen, who eventually retired from the Navy as a chief warrant officer, sent his request to the White House via registered mail—and TruNews has obtained a copy of the receipt.

There’s much more to this story, including other U.S. government officials’ claims of just how close the “USS Liberty Incident” had brought the world to the brink of a nuclear World War III. All of that had been hidden from public scrutiny until a TruNews team began seeking the truth—leading to the four-part docu-series “Sacrificing Liberty.”

Be sure to tune into tonight’s God-cast with host Rick Wiles and the TruNews team of Doc Burkhart and Edward Szall as they discuss the series.

(Photo Credit: Flowing Streams)

Watch the podcast from the 1 hour mark 

HERE


See also