Fifty Years After Israeli Attack on US Naval Ship, No Justice Provided to Survivors
Damaged USS Liberty One Day After Attack
By Daniel Gil/ Contributing Writer
On June 8 1967, Ernest Gallo was thrown across the radio research room of the USS Liberty when an Israeli torpedo struck the ship, during the attack of the United States’ most decorated naval vessel in history for a single action. Yet for half a century, the United States and Israeli governments have attempted to cover up what took place on that day, leaving veterans of the assault without justice or closure.
Whilst in the midst of the Six Day War between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries, Israel launched an aerial and naval strike on the Liberty stationed off the Egyptian coast killing 34 and injuring 174 active military personnel. The official story according to the United States and Israeli governments is that the attack was a tragic mistake as a result of miscommunications between the two nations during the war.
However, Gallo believes, for a fact, this is false. In an article he wrote for the Washington Report he outlines his belief that the Liberty was attacked because Israel “perceived it as a threat to its war agenda,” the capture of the Golan Heights and Sinai. Alarmed by the start of the war, the Soviet Union allegedly warned President Lyndon Johnson that US intervention in the conflict would result in war between the USSR and America. Johnson withdrew military aid to Israel, leaving the small state to defend itself in a conflict for its very existence. The Intercept also published two NSA documents concerning the secrecy of the attack in a Sunday article where another reason for the attack may have existed: that the USS Liberty was intercepting Israeli communications during the war.
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Gallo wants a formal congressional investigation into the attack on the 50th anniversary of the incident. He believes if this were to happen, the evidence would be able to prove without a doubt that Israel knowingly attacked and killed members of the United States military.
According to Gallo, three members of the US Air Force intercepted communications between the Israeli pilots who attacked the ship and their ground control station who asked them to confirm it was American which the pilots confirmed. The station then ordered the ship be sank with no survivors.
“Israel attacked us deliberately even though they were supposed to be our ally… That morning we saw 12 overflights of Israeli reconnaissance planes over six hours. The ship was flying an American flag, they knew we were there,” said Gallo.
Fifteen minutes into the attack on the Liberty, the ship sent out a May Day for support which was answered by the USS Saratoga which sent a fully armed aircraft to intercept the Israeli fighters. However, only minutes after the SOS was responded to, the White House recalled any military support provided to the Liberty leaving its crewmen stranded in the sea without help. Thirty-five minutes into the attack, a large explosion rocked the ship killing 25 Americans.
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The result of all this was a gag order issued by the United States government to the surviving members of the Liberty.
“We couldn’t speak about what happened under penalty of imprisonment and a fine. We couldn’t even tell our wives,” said Gallo, remembering the attack. Gallo is the President of the USS Liberty Veterans Association, an organization of the ship’s former crew dedicated to bringing the true story of the attack to the awareness of the American people.
This is what the USS LVA attempted to do in June of 2005 when they filed a War Crimes Report against Israel for the attack. However, the Pentagon stated that no official investigation will be conducted. The Department of Defense also refused to conduct an investigation despite its authority to look into war crimes.
“All we want is a fair and independent investigation,” said Gallo. He and the rest of the surviving crewmen will head to Arlington National Cemetery Thursday, where a commemoration will be held.