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Contact Info
Home Town Milan Mich.
Last Address Social Security records show he died in London, England, 1995.
Captured at Wake, December 1941, prisoner of war at Zentsuji, Japan on June 24, 1945, and moved that clay to Roku Roshi, Japan.
Commanding Officer USS Glacier AGB-4: The ship returned to McMurdo Sound on 28 October 1956 for "Deep Freeze II", having made the earliest seasonal penetration in history. Glacier then delivered stores and supplies at McMurdo and then Little America, she led seven other ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) through the ice pack to the two Antarctic bases. In January 1957 she led two cargo ships into Vincennes Bay where the last of the seven American bases for the International Geophysical Year was to be constructed. Glacier departed Wilkes Station on 17 February 1957 for the United States via Melbourne when the operation was completed.
Lauff Island is a small island lying 2 n.mi. north of Cape Dart, Siple Island, off the Bakutis Coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. It was discovered and photographed from aircraft of USA Navy Operation Highjump, 1946–47, and was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names for Commander Bernard J. Lauff, US Navy, Commanding Officer of USS Glacier during Operation Deep Freeze, 1956–57.
The Liberty Incident: On the fourth day of the Six Day War (8 Jun 1967), at about 2 PM Sinai time (then, GMT+2), Israeli defense forces attacked the USS Liberty about 14 miles off the coast of the Sinai peninsula, near El Arish.
Captain Bernard J. Lauff, USN, a highly respected veteran of Wake Island in World War II, was designated a member of the U.S. Court of Inquiry which was convened on the Liberty attack.
The court convened in London at forty-six minutes before midnight on June 10, 1967, two days and a few hours after the attack. Testimony was taken in London from Captain Leonard Robert Raish, the Assistant Chief of Staff for the Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe. The court remained in session until 0250 June 11. Rear Admiral Kidd then traveled to Souda Bay, Crete, and boarded the Liberty at sea on June 12 while she was en route to Valletta, Malta. The other members of the court met the ship on June 14, 1967, at the port of Valletta, Malta, and at 0730 the court went into session aboard the Liberty.
The court completed taking evidence in Malta on June 15 and returned to London, where it took additional evidence. The court was closed at 1645 London time on June 16. The court concluded its deliberations two days later and presented its fifty-two findings together with the record of its proceedings to Admiral McCain.
After ten official US investigations (including five congressional investigations), there was never any evidence that the attack was made with knowledge that the target was a US ship. There is substantial evidence the attack was a tragic mistake caused by blunders of both the US and Israel. Eight US presidents, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton, and Bush (43), have each accepted the conclusion that the attack was a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists continue to claim the Israelis knowingly attacked a US ship. By some estimates, there are more conspiracy theories about the Liberty incident than about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Captain Bernard J. Lauff was married to Metta Lund of Oslo, Norway. He died in London, England on November 5, 1995 at age 76.
Other Comments:
Prisoner of War Medal
Awarded for actions during the World War II
Ensign Bernard J. Lauff (NSN: 0-97651), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Wake Island on 23 December 1941, and was held as a Prisoner of War until returned to U.S. Military control at the end of the war.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Action Date: December 23, 1941 - 1945
Service: Navy
Rank: Ensign
Division: Prisoner of War (Japan)
