by James Scott
My father found an unlikely sense of closure when he traveled with me to Israel in the fall of 2007. Yiftah Spector, one of the Israeli pilots who had attacked the Liberty, declined my request for an interview but invited me to his home in the suburbs of Tel Aviv for coffee. Spector, who also participated in Israel’s attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, more recently had drawn criticism for signing a petition, along with other pilots, refusing to conduct airstrikes against militants hiding in densely populated Palestinian areas. I left my father behind and took a cab to Spector’s home that afternoon. I arrived to find the sixty-six-year-old brigadier general covered in sweat from building a playground for his grandchildren in his backyard. Over coffee in his kitchen he asked why I was interested in the Liberty. Four decades had passed, he said, and it was an old story. I told him my father was one of the officers.
Why had I not brought him along for coffee, Spector asked, remembering my earlier comment that my father had accompanied me to Israel. I told him that I thought that might be awkward. “Nonsense,” he said. “I must meet your father. Call him.” I phoned my father and relayed Spector’s request to see him. Within half an hour a taxi pulled alongside the curb in front of Spector’s home, and my father came face-to-face with one of the pilots who attacked his ship that sunny afternoon of June 8, 1967. The two men, both young and confident so many years earlier, were now gray and wrinkled. Spector stuck out his hand for my father to shake. “We came within 300 meters of one another,” he told my father. “I’m sorry.”
Those were the words my father and many of his shipmates had wanted to hear for decades, the words no one in the Navy, the White House, or Congress had ever been publicly willing to say. The Liberty and its crew had become pariahs, shunned for political reasons and the misguided view that it was more important to protect relations with an ally than to support and defend American service members. The unfortunate reality is that America could have done both. Spector had no way of knowing how my father might react when he invited him to his home, but he chose to do so anyway. Even though my father had long ago packed up his memories of the Liberty and moved on with his life, I know how much Spector’s apology meant to him. A burden had been lifted. My father reached out and took Spector’s hand and said: “Thank you.”
NOTE ON SOURCES
Many of the records I used to piece together the story of the U.S.S. Liberty came from two dozen archives and libraries scattered across the United States and Israel. The Freedom of Information Act pried loose other files from the Navy, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and National Security Agency. Litigation proved the only means to obtain some records from the Navy. My diligent research assistant, Gideon Kleiman, scoured Israel’s archives for Liberty records, which I had professionally translated from Hebrew to English in Israel.
Other journalists, historians, and filmmakers graciously opened their private collections of notes, letters, and interviews. Those include Jim Ennes, Jr., author of Assault on the Liberty, who provided me access to more than 5,600 pages of his personal files. Jim Miller, who waged his own legal battle with the U.S. government for Liberty records, copied his collection of hundreds of government memos, cables, and reports. Richard Thompson shared hours of interview outtakes from the BBC’s documentary Dead in the Water. James Bamford, Tim Frank, Joseph Bouchard, and Ahron Bregman also graciously shared interviews, letters, and e-mails.
I relied heavily on hundreds of interviews I conducted with Liberty survivors, Navy personnel, Israeli military and intelligence officers, State Department officials, White House advisers, and CIA and NSA operatives, some of whom have never spoken publicly until now. I often interviewed people on multiple occasions and for hours at a time in their homes, in restaurants, in hunting and Masonic lodges, and on long drives. I gained valuable insight from many people by spending personal time with them, including an afternoon drive across the beautiful Texas hill country and a climb up the clock tower of a historic church along the Canadian border.
All quotes in this book come from memos, reports, telegrams, meeting minutes, press conference transcripts, the Congressional Record, the court of inquiry, news stories, memoirs, and in a few cases, from the recollections of those involved. I have edited some quotes for length, but without altering the meanings. Memory is never perfect, so when possible I have used multiple sources to confirm dialogue and cross-reference scenes for accuracy. The ship’s blueprints along with more than five hundred photographs from the National Archives, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, NSA, Navy, and the private collections of many survivors—particularly Dave Lucas, Dennis Eikleberry, and Lloyd Painter—proved an invaluable tool to re-create places described in this book as well as the Liberty itself, both before and after the attack.
The best material came from the personal files and records of the sailors who survived that awful day. Many of the officers and crewmembers still have razor-sharp bullets, bits of twisted shrapnel, and edges of blast holes that were excised off the ship’s hull and superstructure by welders in Malta more than four decades ago. I wrote this manuscript with a piece of the Liberty’s handcrafted African mahogany deck rail—still burned and peppered with shrapnel—sitting atop my computer. Beyond relics, these Liberty veterans shared with me scores of never-before-seen personal letters, telegrams, postcards, journals, reel-to-reel tapes, and notes, which opened wide a window on the past. These records make up the soul of this book.
ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, S.C.
Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.
Edwin Ginn Library, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Mass.
Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library, Pensacola, Fla.
Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y.
George C. Marshall Research Library, Lexington, Va.
Government Documents/Microforms Collection, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Lamont, Littauer, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Law School, Widener libraries, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch, Iowa.
Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
Israel State Archives, Jerusalem.
J. D. Williams Library, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, Austin, Texas.
Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C.
National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.
National Cryptologic Museum Library, Fort Meade, Md.
Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C.
Naval War College Library, Newport, R.I.
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Md.
Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
NOTES
PROLOGUE
I know what a slaughterhouse: Gary Brummett interview with author, Sept. 30, 2006.
grave #1817: Kaitlin Horst e-mail to author, Aug. 19, 2008.
“one of the most bloody”: Michael E. Ruane, “An Ambushed Crew Salutes Its Captain,” Washington Post, April 10, 1999, p. B1.
He had shied away: Gene Kramer, “Skipper Breaks Silence on Attack,” Peoria Journal Star, June 9, 1997, p. A2.
His family had weathered: William McGonagle interview with Tim Frank, Sept. 27, 1997.
The Liberty festered inside him: Jim Yardley, “A Salute to Bravery, and Modesty, as Medal of
Honor Heroes Meet,” New York Times, June 7, 1998, p. 1; Marguerite Freeman interview with author, Dec. 15, 2007.
Within months: Marguerite Freeman interviews with author, Dec. 15–16, 2007.
In twenty-two months: Ruane, “An Ambushed Crew Salutes Its Captain,” p. B1.
some analysts argue: Benjamin Cwalina interview with author, Dec. 3, 2007.
“There wasn’t any place”: Patrick O’Malley interview with author, Nov. 26, 2007.
The Navy barred its investigators: Ward Boston, Jr., interview with author, Oct. 11, 2006.
“with the feeling”: David L. McDonald’s Comments/Recommended Changes on Liberty Press Release, Box 112, Liberty Press Releases, Immediate Office Files of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center (NHC), Washington, D.C.
“not good enough”: “Not Good Enough,” editorial, Washington Post, June 30, 1967, p. A22.
“more fog”: “Missed Signals Again,” editorial, Chicago Tribune, June 30, 1967, p. 14.
“Did the attackers”: “Pentagon Cover-Up,” editorial, Evening Star, June 30, 1967, p. A14.
“Whatever is the reason”: Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 1st sess., June 29, 1967, p. 17893.
“I can’t tolerate”: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Foreign Assistance Act of 1967: Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Relations on S. 1872, 90th Cong., 1st sess., July 26, 1967 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967), pp. 266, 268.
“How could”: Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 1st sess., June 29, 1967, pp. 17894–95.
“Blast injury to brain”: untitled handwritten notes, Box 3, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, Hoover Institution Archives (HIA), Palo Alto, Calif.
When asked to attend: William McGonagle undated draft letter to Stan White, Box 6, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA.
One of his officers wrote: Lloyd Painter e-mail to author, Nov. 27, 2007; Lloyd Painter interview with author, Aug. 22, 2008.
McGonagle had quietly conducted: Information is drawn from multiple sources, including letters and notes on file with McGonagle’s personal papers in the Hoover Institution Archives. Also, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum provided copies of McGonagle’s charge sheets detailing the records he reviewed on his May 13–16, 1985, and Oct. 19–20, 1998, visits to the archives. McGonagle’s questioning and disbelief in the official American and Israeli stories come from his interview with Tim Frank on Sept. 27, 1997, and his interview with Richard Schmucker on Nov. 16, 1998.
“For many years”: Dead in the Water, directed by Christopher Mitchell, Source Films for BBC, 2002.
CHAPTER 1
I got my orders today!: John Scott letter to parents, March 1, 1966.
Commander William McGonagle paced: Author interviews with Dave Lewis (April 10, 2007); John Scott (March 31, 2007); Dave Lucas (April 25, 2007); Dave Lucas’s journal; Dave Lewis e-mails to author, Aug. 5, 2008.
The Liberty, squeezed: Dave Lucas audio letter to Paula Lucas, May 23, 1967; John Scott letters to parents, April 26, 1967, and May 31, 1967; Dale Larkins letter to parents, May 31, 1967.
The Liberty’s new orders: COMSERVRON EIGHT msg. 240020Z, May 1967, Liberty court of inquiry.
The skipper’s haste: Patrick O’Malley interview with author, Nov. 26, 2007; William McGonagle letter to Clay Brooks with completed Hall of Fame Profile, Nov. 5, 1985, Box 1, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA; William McGonagle Navy Bio, July 8, 1971, Box 6, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA; William McGonagle letter to Mike Polston with completed questionaire, Dec. 12, 1994, Box 1, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA; William McGonagle interview with Tim Frank, Sept. 27, 1997.
“the wrath”: John Scott letter to parents, Feb. 17, 1967.
“My career”: Patrick O’Malley interview with author, Nov. 26, 2007.
Oregon shipbuilders: James Mooney, et al., eds., Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, vol. 4. (Washington DC.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969), p. 109; Unclassified Naval Security Group File, U.S.S. Liberty, Post 1 Jan. 1946, Command File, Operational Archives Branch, NHC.
Halfway around: House Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the U.S.S. Pueblo and EC-121 Plane Incidents: Hearings Before the Special Subcommittee on the U.S.S. Pueblo. 91st Cong., 1st sess., March 4, 1969 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969), pp. 635–36; Raymond V. B Blackman, ed., Jane’s Fighting Ships, 1966–67 (London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1966) p. 447; Thomas H. Moorer oral history interview with John T. Mason, Jr., Jan. 13, 1976, U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Md.
The Defense Department: House Committee on Armed Services, Inquiry into the U.S.S. Pueblo and EC-121 Plane Incidents: Report of the Special Subcommittee on the U.S.S. Pueblo. 91st Cong., 1st sess., July 28, 1969 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969), pp. 1631–33; Julie Alger, “A Review of the Technical Research Ship Program, 1961–1969,” p. 5; “Fact Sheet for DIRNSA,” undated, www.nsa.gov; Oliver Kirby interview with author, Dec. 31, 2007; Bobby Ray Inman interview with author, Feb. 26, 2007.
The Navy commissioned: Alger, “A Review of the Technical Research Ship Program, 1961–1969,” pp. 5–12; Howard Lund interview with author, Sept. 25, 2007.
“to discourage”: J. W. Chidsey Memorandum for the Record, Feb. 21, 1967, Box 19, Immediate Office File, of the CNO, Operational Archives Branch, NHC.
Shipfitters: Mooney et al., eds., Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, vol. 4, p. 109; Dave Lewis interview with author, April 10, 2007; William D. Gerhard and Henry W. Millington, Attack on a Sigint Collector, the U.S.S. Liberty, National Security Agency/Central Security Service, 1981, p. 16.
“porcupine”: Isaac Kidd, Jr., made the comment during the Liberty court of inquiry. His description comes from a magnabelt recording of the session and is not contained in the court’s printed transcript.
On the frigid: U.S.S. Liberty Commissioning Program, Dec. 30, 1964, Box 3, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA; Donald Peoples interview with author, Dec. 31, 2007.
Like its namesakes: Author interviews with Warren Heaney (Jan. 28, 2008), John Scott (March 30–31, 2007), Jack Beattie (Dec. 27, 2007), George Wilson (Feb. 1, 2008), Gary Brummett (Oct. 8, 2008), and Mac Watson (Jan. 31, 2008).
A class system: Author interviews with John Scott (March 30, 2007), Dave Lewis (April 10, 2007), Joe Lentini (April 6, 2007), and Gary Brummett (Oct. 8, 2008); Joe Lentini e-mail to author, Sept. 12, 2008.
Though the government: Chidsey Memorandum for the Record.
sailed at 7:30: William McGonagle testimony, Liberty court of inquiry.
“I was too hung over”: John Scott letter to parents, May 31, 1967; John Scott interview with author, March 31, 2007.
Lieutenant Commander Philip Armstrong, Jr.: Author interviews with John Scott (March 30, 2007), Dave Lewis (April 10, 2007), Mac Watson (Jan. 31, 2008, and Sept. 15, 2008), Dave Lucas (April 25, 2007), Tim Armstrong (Sept. 22, 2007), and Richard Taylor (May 30, 2007).
The skipper would deny: William McGonagle letter to Jim Ennes, Jr., Jan. 1980.
McGonagle rated: Philip Armstrong, Jr., fitness reports, May 31, 1966, and June 1, 1967, Box 10, William Loren McGonagle Papers, 1947–99, HIA.
CHAPTER 2
The circumstances surrounding: House Committee on Armed Services, Review of Department of Defense Worldwide Communications Phase I: Report of the Armed Services Investigating Subcommittee, 92nd Cong., 1st sess., May 10, 1971 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), p. 6.
The cost: “Vietnam War,” editorial, New York Times. May 28, 1967, p. E2.
Casualties for May: Tom Buckley, “Casualties of U.S. Rise in Vietnam,” New York Times, June 2, 1967. p. 1.
“Vietnam was a fungus”: Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History, rev. ed. (New York: Penguin, 1991), p. 493.
The 25,000 sorties: Robert S. McNamara with Brian VanDeMark, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons o
f Vietnam (New York: Times Books/Random House, 1995), p. 244.
The Pentagon spent: “Pentagon Triples Spending on Defoliation in Vietnam,” New York Times, March 15, 1967, p. 2.
“If America’s soul”: “Beyond Vietnam,” April 4, 1967, www.stanford.edu.
“war without end”: Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 1st sess., April 25, 1967, p. 10611.
“fanatically devoted”: The Vietnam Situation: An Analysis and Estimate, May 23, 1967, Box 14, Central Intelligence Agency Collection, Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
“resolute stoicism”: Intelligence Memorandum: The Current State of Morale in North Vietnam, May 12, 1967, Box 1, Central Intelligence Agency Collection, Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.