“Navy Vet Honored, Foiled Israeli Attack
. . . . Terry Halbardier[‘s] bravery and ingenuity as a 23-year-old Navy seaman spelled the difference between the murder of 34 of the USS Liberty crew and the intended massacre of all 294.
The date was June 8, 1967; and for the families of the 34 murdered and for the Liberty’s survivors and their families, it is a ‘date which will live in infamy’ — like the date of an earlier surprise attack on the U.S. Navy.
The infamy is two-fold: (1) the Liberty, a virtually defenseless intelligence collection platform prominently flying an American flag in international waters, came under deliberate attack by Israeli aircraft and three 60-ton Israeli torpedo boats off the coast of the Sinai on a cloudless June afternoon during the six-day Israeli-Arab war; and (2) President Lyndon Johnson called back carrier aircraft dispatched to defend the Liberty lest Israel be embarrassed — the start of an unconscionable cover-up, including top Navy brass, that persists to this day.
Given all they have been through, the Liberty survivors and other veterans – who joined Halbardier to celebrate his belated receipt of the Silver Star – can be forgiven for having doubted that this day would ever come. In the award ceremony at the Visalia (California) office of Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman pinned the Silver Star next to the Purple Heart that Halbardier found in his home mailbox three years ago.
Nunes said, ‘The government has kept this quiet I think for too long, and I felt as my constituent he [Halbardier] needed to get recognized for the services he made to his country.’
. . . .
The Liberty survivors are big on getting the truth out about what actually happened that otherwise beautiful day in June 1967. Last Wednesday’s award of the Silver Star to Terry Halbardier marked a significant step in the direction of truth telling. Is it too much to hope that the example set by Nunes may embolden other lawmakers to right the wrongs done to their Liberty-veteran constituents — and thus to chip away at what’s left of the cover-up?
Halbardier said he accepted his Silver Star on behalf of the entire 294-man crew. He and fellow survivor Don Pageler expressed particular satisfaction at the wording of the citation, which stated explicitly — with none of the usual fudging — the identity of the attackers: ‘The USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli aircraft and motor torpedo boats in the East Mediterranean Sea. . . .’ In the past, official citations, like Captain McGonagle’s, had avoided mentioning Israel by name when alluding to the attack.
I think former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck put it best in condemning this kind of approach as ‘obsequious, unctuous subservience to the peripheral interests of a foreign nation at the cost of the lives and morale of our own service members and their families.’ Strong words for a diplomat. But right on target.
Were it not for Halbardier’s bravery, ingenuity, and technical expertise, the USS Liberty would surely have sunk, taking down much – if not all – of the crew. Israeli commando helicopters were ready to take care of any personnel still that survived the sinking.
The first thing the Israeli aircraft bombed and strafed were the Liberty’s communications antennae and other equipment. They succeeded in destroying all the antennae that were functional. One antenna on the port side, though, had been out of commission and had escaped damage.
In receiving the Silver Star, Halbardier made light of his heroism, claiming that he was just a guy from Texas who could do a whole lot with simple stuff like baling wire. (In the infantry we called this kind of thing a ‘field expedient.’) In any case, with his can-do attitude and his technical training, he figured he might be able to get that particular antenna working again. But first he would have to repair a cable that had been destroyed on deck and then connect the antenna to a transmitter.
The deck was still being strafed, but Halbardier grabbed a reel of cable, ran out onto the deck, and attached new cable to the antenna so a radioman could get an SOS out to the 6th fleet in the Mediterranean.
Voila. ‘Mayday’ went out; almost immediately the Israeli aircraft and torpedo ships broke off the attack and went back to base; the Israeli government sent a quick apology to Washington for its unfortunate ‘mistake;’ and President Johnson issued orders to everyone to make believe the Israelis were telling the truth — or at least to remain silent.
To their discredit, top Navy brass went along, and the Liberty survivors were threatened with court martial and prison if they so much as mentioned to their wives what had actually happened. They were enjoined as well from discussing it with one another. As Liberty crewman Don Pageler put it, ‘We all headed out after that, and we didn’t talk to each other.’
. . . .
Despite Israeli protestations, the accumulated evidence, including intercepted voice communications, is such that no serious observer believes Israel’s ‘Oops’ excuse of a terrible mistake.
The following exchanges are excerpts of testimony from U.S. military and diplomatic officials given to Alison Weir, founder of ‘If Americans Knew’ and author of American Media Miss the Boat:
Israeli pilot to ground control: ‘This is an American ship. Do you still want us to attack?’
Ground control: ‘Yes, follow orders.’
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
‘But sir, it’s an American ship — I can see the flag!’
Ground control: ‘Never mind; hit it!’
Haviland Smith, a CIA officer stationed in Beirut during the Six-Day War, says he was told that the transcripts were ‘deep-sixed,’ because the U.S. government did not want to embarrass Israel.”
Read more at afterdowningstreet.org or visit ussliberty.org.