by James Scott
His support of Israel: Thomas Hughes interview with author, May 3, 2007.
“I could never imagine”: Richard B. Parker, ed., The Six Day War: A Retrospective (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996), p. 278.
“complete explanation: Eugene Rostow memorandum of conversation with Avraham Harman, June 10, 1967, in Schwar, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, p. 419.
“make retribution”: AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV msg. 091115Z, June 1967, Box 108, National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“The Government of Israel”: Avraham Harman letter to Dean Rusk, June 10, 1967, Box 107 [2 of 2], National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“cannot simply be”: Dean Rusk draft letter to Avraham Harman, June 10, 1967, Box 108, National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“At the time”: Dean Rusk letter to Avraham Harman, June 10, 1967, Box 107 [2 of 2], National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“tragic mistake”: Dean Rusk telegram 210199 to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, June 11, 1967, Box 1794, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 27 ARAB-ISR, NARA.
At 5:12 P.M.: Lyndon Johnson Daily Diary, June 10, 1967.
Built in 1925: Details on the history of the Sequoia are drawn from www.sequoiayacht.com; Blackman, Jane’s Fighting Ships, 1967–68, p. 437.
The president woke: Lyndon Johnson Daily Diary, June 11, 1967.
On his own: Johnson, A White House Diary, p. 522.
The Special Committee: Meeting Minutes of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 12, 1967, Box 19, National Security File, National Security Council Histories, Middle East Crisis, LBJL.
The president: Lyndon Johnson Daily Diary, June 12, 1967; Lyndon Johnson’s handwritten notes, June 12, 1967, Box 22, Handwriting File, LBJL.
For every Israeli: Oren, Six Days of War, pp. 305–7.
“People in office”: Harold Saunders interview with author, Oct. 2, 2007.
“Most of us knew”: Lucius Battle interview with author, Nov. 7, 2006.
“There was nobody”: Nicholas Katzenbach interview with author, April 19, 2007.
“vicious”: Ephraim Evron telegram 156 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“made things easier”: Ibid.
“probably for more use”: McGeorge Bundy memo to President Johnson, June 9, 1967, Box 108, National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“The Government of Israel”: Avraham Harman letter to Dean Rusk, June 12, 1967, Box 107 [2 of 2], National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
“With 10 men killed”: Harold H. Saunders memo to McGeorge Bundy, June 8, 1967, Box 3, National Security File, Files of the Special Committee of the NSC, LBJL.
“political independence”: Schwar, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, pp. 80–81.
Two more American fighters: “Power Plant and MiG Field in North Hit by U.S. Planes,” New York Times, June 12, 1967, p. 1.
The unpopular war: Walt W. Rostow memo to Lyndon Johnson, May 25, 1968, Box 35, National Security File, Memos to the President, Walt Rostow, LBJL.
The Middle East war produced: Whitney Shoemaker oral history interview with Dorothy Pierce, Nov. 25, 1968, LBJL.
“During the past ten days”: Dixon Donnelley memo to Dean Rusk, June 14, 1967, Box 109, National Security File, Country File, Middle East, LBJL.
The week of the attack: Bernard Weinraub, “Allied Unit with U.S. Copters Smashes a Vietcong Battalion,” New York Times, June 16, 1967, p. 16.
“There are lots”: Harold Saunders interview with author, Oct. 2, 2007.
“However outrageous”: Dean Rusk letter to Jim Ennes, Jr., Sept. 10, 1981.
“It was no help”: Nicholas Katzenbach interview with author, April 19, 2007.
“After reviewing”: McGeorge Bundy memorandum for the Record, June 12, 1967, Box 19, National Security File, National Security Council Histories, Middle East Crisis, LBJL.
“suggested Harman”: Benjamin H. Read memo, June 16, 1967, Box 19, National Security File, National Security Council Histories, Middle East Crisis, LBJL.
CHAPTER 12
That evening: Dale Larkins letter to parents, June 15, 1967.
The Liberty sailed: Liberty Deck Log, June 14, 1967.
Bandaged crewmembers: Colin Frost, “Strafed Ship Reaches Malta,” Virginian-Pilot, June 15, 1967, p. 6; “Ship Attack Puzzles Pentagon,” Chicago Tribune, June 14, 1967, p. 2.
McGonagle appeared: “‘Liberty’ Reaches Malta Port,” Virginian-Pilot, June 15, 1967, p. 1; William McGonagle interview with Tim Frank, Sept. 27, 1997.
“the colors of the dawn”: “Ship Attack Puzzles Pentagon,” p. 2.
“funnel had more holes”: Frost, “Strafed Ship Reaches Malta,” p. 6.
“shot up as a tin can”: “Unexplained Casualty: U.S.S. ‘Liberty,’” Life, June 23, 1967, p. 29.
Divers slipped into wet suits: John Highfill interview with author, Feb. 10, 2008.
A Maltese harbor pilot: Liberty Deck Log, June 14, 1967.
concocted a cover story: CINCUSNAVEUR msg. 120950Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
To prevent the loss: HQ NSAEUR msg., 161530Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov; CTF ONE ZERO ZERO msg. 150200Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
Soon after the attack: John Scott interviews with author, April 1, 2007, and July 21, 2008.
“death ship”: Ibid.
“The smell was so bad”: Jack Beattie letter to parents, June 15, 1967.
With drydock now dewatered: Lloyd Painter interview with author, March 1, 2007; Lloyd Painter e-mail to author, April, 11, 2008.
The Navy allowed: HQ NSAEUR msg., 161530Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
The men picked: Description of the torpedoed compartments are drawn from interviews with Lloyd Painter (March 1, 2007), Ron Kukal (March 14, 2007), Dennis Eikleberry (Oct. 12, 2006, and March 22, 2007), Don Pageler (July 26, 2007), Robert Schnell (Feb. 1, 2008), and Sam Schulman (May 17, 2007).
“You’d puke”: Robert Schnell interview with author, Feb. 1, 2008.
“When they picked”: Dennis Eikleberry interview with author, March 22, 2007.
“Not just arms”: Don Pageler interview with Joyce E. Terrill, April 25, 1987.
“You knew who”: Sam Schulman interview with author, May 17, 2007.
“Some of the bodies”: Ron Kukal interview with author, March 15, 2007.
Kiefer poured brandy: Richard Kiepfer interview with author, Jan. 11, 2007.
An early status report: USS LIBERTY msg. 150710Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
“Twenty remains”: CTF ONE ZERO ZERO msg. 151406Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
Press queries swamped: Goulding, Confirm or Deny, p. 124.
“Many rumors and reports”: Ibid., p. 130.
“one of the most intriguing”: Fred Farrar, “Pentagon Reports of Israeli Ship Attacks Termed Curious,” Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1967, p. 16.
The Navy prepped: COMSIXTHFLT msg. 090546Z, June 1967, Liberty Incident Message File, NHC; USCINCEUR msg. 081650Z, June 1967, Liberty Incident Message File, NHC.
Afterward staff cabled: USS AMERICA msg. 150657Z, June 1967, Box 113, Public Affairs Matters, Immediate Office Files of the CNO, Operational Archives Branch, NHC.
“At one point”: USS AMERICA msg. 112005Z, June 1967, Liberty Incident Message File, NHC.
“To put it bluntly”: Seymour M. Hersh, “Toll in Torpedoing of U.S. Ship Put at 33 Killed, 75 Wounded,” Washington Post, June 10, 1967, p. A12; USS AMERICA msg. 092225Z, June 1967, Liberty Incident Message File, NHC.
“Mr. Horton’s copy”: CINCUSNAVEUR msg. 111743Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
Days before the Liberty’s arrival: CINCUSNAVEUR 110225Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
“minimize immediate scrutiny”: AMEMBASSY VALLETTA msg. 161815Z, June 1967, Box 1796, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 27 ARAB-ISR, NARA.
The Navy also barred: CTF ONE ZERO ZERO msg. 170630Z
, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
To satisfy the press: CTF ONE ZERO ZERO msg. 150200Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
“rigidly controlled”: Ibid.
“to prevent lending credence”: AMEMBASSY VALLETTA msg. 161815Z, June 1967, Box 1796, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 27 ARAB-ISR, NARA.
“Believe that”: CTF ONE ZERO ZERO msg. 150200Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
“members of the crew”: CINCUSNAVEUR msg. 120950Z, June 1967, www.nsa.gov.
“We were just sitting ducks”: “‘Just Sitting Ducks,’ Sailor Says of Attack,” News and Courier, June 16, 1967, p. 3A.
“That sort of thing”: Dave Lucas letter to parents, June 24, 1967.
“Everything I’ve said”: Dave Lucas letter to Paula Lucas, June 15, 1967.
A court of inquiry: Material in this section, unless otherwise noted, comes from the transcript of the Liberty court of inquiry.
His father had served: “Admiral J. S. McCain Dies on Coast at 61,” New York Times, Sept. 7, 1945, p. 1.
“He combined”: “Admiral McCain,” editorial, New York Times, Sept. 9, 1945, p. 76.
The younger McCain: Information on Admiral John McCain, Jr.’s, personality is derived from Herbert E. Hetu oral history interview with Paul Stillwell, June 5, 1996, U.S. Naval Institute; Joseph C. Wylie, Jr., oral history interview with Paul Stillwell, May 22, 1985, U.S. Naval Institute; John McCain with Mark Salter, Faith of My Fathers (New York: Random House, 1999), pp. 52–96.
“Our staff begged”: Joseph C. Wylie, Jr., oral history interview with Paul Stillwell, May 22, 1985, U.S. Naval Institute; J. C. Wylie, Jr., letter to Joseph F. Bouchard, March 28, 1988.
“It was a little bigger”: Herbert E. Hetu oral history interview with Paul Stillwell, June 5, 1996, U.S. Naval Institute.
Faced with political pressure: Ward Boston, Jr., interview with author, Oct. 11, 2006.
Salvage divers later found: Joy Waldron Jasper, James P. Delgado, and Jim Adams, The U.S.S. Arizona: The Ship, the Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America (New York: Truman Tally/St. Martin’s, 2001), p. 13.
The rear admiral was the highest-ranking: “23 High Officers Casualties in War,” New York Times, May 7, 1944, p. 34.
“The U.S. Naval Academy”: “June in December,” Time, Dec. 29, 1941, p. 40.
Kidd served as: Wolfgang Saxon, “Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., 79, Admiral and Expert on Maritime Law,” New York Times, July 4, 1999, p. 26; “Navy Hero’s Son to Get Ship,” New York Times, Sept. 7, 1956, p. 5; “New U.S. Destroyer Division,” New York Times, Jan. 2, 1962, p. 5.
Boston had flown fighters: Ward Boston, Jr., interview with author, Oct. 11, 2006.
arriving on board the injured ship: Liberty Deck Log, June 12, 1967.
“Talk about brass”: Dave Lucas letter to Paula Lucas, June 15, 1967.
The wardroom still bore: “Finis,” Newsweek, July 3, 1967, p. 24; Dave Lucas letter to Paula Lucas, June 16, 1967.
To help the twenty-five-year-old officer relax: Dave Lucas letter to Paula Lucas, June 15, 1967.
Days later: Richard Kiepfer interview with author, Jan. 11, 2007.
Lieutenant Commander William Pettyjohn: William Pettyjohn interview with author, Feb. 24, 2008.
Lieutenant Jim Ennes, Jr.: Jim Ennes, Jr., e-mail to author, Oct. 6, 2008.
Seaman Larry Weaver: Larry Weaver e-mail to author, Sept. 3, 2008.
Lieutenant Jim O’Connor: James G. O’Connor oral history interview with Bill Gerhard, Henry Millington, Hank Schorreck, and Bob Farley, May 22, 1980, www.nsa.gov.
Captain Boston watched men: Ward Boston, Jr., interview with author, Oct. 11, 2006.
“murderous bastards”: Ibid.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Cocnavitch: Charles Cocnavitch interviews with author, Dec. 10, 2007, and Aug. 28, 2008.
“The barrel basically”: Dale Larkins interview with author, Sept. 10, 2007.
“It was all perfunctory”: John Scott interview with author, April 13, 2008.
“shallow”: Lloyd Painter interview with author, April 13, 2008.
“cursory”: Mac Watson interview with author, April 23, 2008.
“process rather than product”: Patrick O’Malley e-mail to author, April 20, 2008.
The transcript shows: The Liberty inquiry’s lack of depth is particularly apparent when compared to the court of inquiry that examined North Korea’s 1968 seizure of the spy ship U.S.S. Pueblo. The Pueblo inquiry took testimony from more than 100 witnesses, generating more than 3,300 pages of testimony.
never approached within thirty-eight miles: Cristol, The Liberty Incident, p. 267.
James Halman: James Halman interviews with author, Jan. 21, 2008, and Aug. 15, 2008.
Other crewmembers said: This author discovered eleven magnabelt tapes in the Naval Historical Center’s archives containing approximately 2.5 hours of testimony from the Liberty court of inquiry. These are believed to be the only surviving tapes from that investigation. The Navy, which originally attempted to block the release of the tapes, relented after I filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in federal court. The tapes unfortunately do not cover the portions of testimony that are in dispute. But a comparison of the testimony on the tapes with the court’s printed transcript shows multiple omissions and off-the-record exchanges that are not present in the court’s official transcript. That transcript, according to Adm. John McCain, Jr.’s, orders, was supposed to be a verbatim record.
Lucas submitted: Dave Lucas interview with author, April 25, 2007.
Painter’s testimony: Lloyd Painter interview with author, March 1, 2007; Ward Boston interviews with author, Oct. 11, 2006, and April 21, 2007.
Cocnavitch said: Charles Cocnavitch interviews with author, Dec. 10, 2007, and Aug. 28, 2008.
“Our Navy’s Inquiry”: Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., letter to Jim Ennes, Jr., Oct. 10, 1983.
“The court didn’t seem”: Lloyd Painter interview with author, April 13, 2008.
“That question”: James G. O’Connor oral history interview with Bill Gerhard, Henry Millington, Hank Schorreck, and Bob Farley, May 22, 1980, www.nsa.gov.
CHAPTER 13
Thursday and Friday: George Scott letter to John Scott, June 11, 1967.
“wake of bitterness”: “Sinking the Liberty: Accident or Design?,” Newsweek, June 19, 1967, p. 21.
“questions outnumbered answers”: “Mystery of Attack on U.S.S. ‘Liberty,’” U.S. News & World Report, June 26, 1967, p. 33.
“unexplained casualty”: “Unexplained Casualty: U.S.S. ‘Liberty,’” Life, June 23, 1967, p. 29.
“When the essentials”: “The Liberty,” editorial, Washington Post, June 17, 1967, p. A12.
“puzzling circumstances”: Drew Pearson and Jack Anderson, “Explanations Due on Ship Attack,” Washington Post, June 16, 1967, p. D19.
“No one can figure out”: Ruth Scott letter to John Scott, June 15, 1967.
The Liberty’s chief engineer: George Golden interview with Jim Ennes, Jr., Dec. 3, 1972.
“We were flying”: “Crewmen of ‘Liberty’ Say Attack Deliberate,” Virginian-Pilot, June 18, 1967, p. A13; “Israelis Knowingly Attacked Ship, Navy Reportedly Told,” Evening Star, June 17, 1967, p. A2.
“Because other reporters”: CINCUSNAVEUR msg. 181105Z, June 1967, Liberty Incident Message File, NHC.
“Former Navy skippers”: George C. Wilson, “Liberty Attack Punctured Pentagon Cover,” Washington Post, June 18, 1967, p. C5.
“The Israelis may have”: Seymour M. Hersh, “Israeli Jets Eyed Ship Before Blow,” Washington Post, June 14, 1967, p. A11.
“Couldn’t that skipper”: Wilson, “Liberty Attack Punctured Pentagon Cover,” p. C5.
“Greater precautions”: David Lawrence, “Attack on U.S. Ship Stirs Questions,” Evening Star, June 13, 1967, p. A13.
“rejected the idea”: “Officer Calls It a Mistake,” New York Times, June 18, 1967, p. 20.
Democratic representative Wayne Hays: “Washington Whispers
: Why Nasser Offered to Bow Out…Wrong Guess by Hussein…Israel’s ‘Lesson’ to U.S. Generals,” U.S. News & World Report, June 19, 1967, p. 28.
“Israel is suffering”: Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 1st sess. June 14, 1967, p. 15875.
“We can yet redeem”: Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 1st sess. June 15, 1967, p. 15957.
“very dangerous elements”: Ephraim Evron telegram 156 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA; Avraham Harman telegram 285 to the Foreign Ministry, June 18, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“very reliable journalistic source”: Dan Patir telegram 155 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“carried out a deliberate attack”: Ibid.
“presented pretty much”: Ephraim Evron telegram 156 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“We can assume”: Ibid.
“We are facing”: Ibid.
“of the dangers”: Ibid.
“improve our position”: Ibid.
“toned down”: Dan Patir telegram 163 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“malicious”: “Raid on Ship Deliberate, Some Claim,” Virginian-Pilot, June 13, 1967, p. 12.
“We have made sure”: Dan Patir telegram 115 to the Foreign Ministry, July 11, 1967, 4079/HZ-26, ISA.
“floating one self-serving rumor”: Goulding, Confirm or Deny, p. 128.
“to make this tragedy”: Ibid., p. 137.
Israeli officials told: Fred Farrar, “Israel Says U.S. Ignored Query on Ships in Area,” Washington Post, June 16, 1967, p. A9.
“urgent confirmation”: Dean Rusk telegram 211695 to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, June 16, 1967, Box 1796, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 27 ARAB-ISR, NARA.
“No request for info”: AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV msg. 162000Z, June 1967, ibid.
“A personal friend”: Ephraim Evron telegram 160 to the Foreign Ministry, June 11, 1967, 5986/HZ-4, ISA.