On a clear June afternoon in 1967, the USS Liberty — a United States Navy intelligence ship flying the American flag in international waters — was attacked without warning by Israeli jet fighters and torpedo boats. The assault lasted nearly two hours. Napalm was dropped on the deck. Rockets tore through the hull. A single torpedo blasted a 39-foot hole in the ship's side, killing 25 men instantly.
The crew desperately tried to call for help. Israeli aircraft jammed all five of their radio frequencies simultaneously. When a distress signal finally got through, fighter jets were launched from nearby U.S. carriers — and then immediately recalled on direct orders from Washington. Help did not arrive for seventeen hours.
"No one in the White House believed the attack was an accident."
— George Christian, Press Secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1978The official Navy investigation — ordered by Johnson and McNamara to conclude "mistaken identity" — was later exposed as a fraud by its own chief attorney, Captain Ward Boston, in a sworn affidavit. The NSA's own declassified transcripts showed Israeli pilots confirmed they were targeting an American ship before the attack even began.
Survivors were threatened with court-martial if they spoke publicly. Their medals were handed out in quiet, unpublicized ceremonies far from the White House. No president has ever ordered a full congressional investigation. The survivors — now in their 80s — have spent 58 years fighting to be heard. They are running out of time.