Monday is Memorial Day. Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza in the June 1967 War, nearly 59 years ago, claiming Egypt was about to attack it.
“Between the Lines” reports in “Marine Veteran Recounts Israel’s 1967 Attack on U.S. Intelligence Ship During Six-Day War and Its Lasting Impact” that Bryce Lockwood, an 86-year-old “retired U.S. Marine who was aboard the intelligence-gathering ship, the USS Liberty, when it was bombed by Israel in the Mediterranean on June 8, 1967. The attack occurred three days after the start of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Lockwood lives in Missouri. …
“Lockwood was one of [the] Marine Corps linguists aboard the ship and was seriously burned when a torpedo exploded. He was awarded a Purple Heart and also a Silver Star for rescuing three sailors trapped in flooded ship compartments. Altogether, 34 were killed and 174 wounded.”
Available for a limited number of interviews:
BRYCE LOCKWOOD
USS Liberty survivor Lockwood recently spoke at the National Press Club at an event organized by the Eisenhower Media Network, see video.
He said before the war, “a group of U.S. phantom photo reconnaissance aircraft that was sent from the United States to Terrone Air Base in Spain” was then flown over Egypt and other Arab countries. “The results of those flights were given to the Israelis. When hostilities broke out, they knew where every aircraft was located, every piece of artillery, every tank. The Egyptians were in defensive positions.”
Israeli planes attacking the USS Liberty” were using unmarked aircraft, a violation of international law. One of those pilots refused to fire on us. He said: ‘It’s an American ship. It’s an American ship. I can see the flag.’ His name was Lev Toth. He returned to base, was court martialed and spent five years in Israeli prison. …
“Admiral Larry Geist, who was commander of Task Force Six that included the carriers USS Saratoga and USS America” would later recount that he tried to intervene but was ordered back by Robert McNamara, who headed the Pentagon and President Johnson who said ‘Get those aircraft back. I will not have my allies embarrassed.’ Why? President Johnson hated Gamal Nasser, the President of Egypt, hated him. We think the president [LBJ] set us up as sacrificial lambs. …
“There has never been a U.S. Congress investigation into the attack on the USS Liberty. Israel realized they could do whatever they wanted and the U.S. Congress, U.S. government would do nothing.”
Lockwood quoted former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin: “The Egyptian Army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him.”
See the IPA news release: “1967 War Myths Key to Gaza Today.”