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"The heroism displayed by the Commanding Officer, officers and men of the Liberty was exceptional. The Commanding Officer is being recommended for the Congressional Medal [of Honor], and the ship for an appropriate [Presidential Unit] unit citation."
Finding 47 of the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry
The crew of USS Liberty performed heroically on June 8, 1967 - both collectively and individually. Their unarmed ship was attacked without warning. Damage assessment teams later counted more than 800 hand-sized holes in the ship, inflicted by rocket or cannon fire. The holes made by the thousands of fifty-caliber machine gun rounds were too numerous to count. There was also the terror inflicted by the napalm weapons dropped on the ship. Add to this already destructive firepower the effect of a torpedo with a 1,000-pound warhead impacting at the waterline amidships and tearing a forty foot hole in the side of the ship and one begins to comprehend the scope of the offensive onslaught of the Israeli Defense Forces against USS Liberty.
Generally, combat infantry units are pulled off the line when they suffer casualties of 15% or greater. The crew of USS Liberty suffered 70% casualties within the span of two hours. Despite their overwhelming casualties, however, they managed to take care of themselves and their ship, and bring USS Liberty home safely.
Admiral Isaac Kidd, upon viewing the ship first hand while it was still on its way into port following the attack, related that he was stunned that the ship was still afloat after all of the damage it had sustained. He formally recommended that the Navy carefully document every aspect of Liberty's damage control activities and teach them on every other ship in the Navy.
In recognition of the heroism of the crew the following awards were bestowed:
Congressional Medal of Honor 1
Navy Cross 2 (both posthumously)
Silver Star 11 (two posthumously)
Bronze Star with 'V' Device 20
Purple Heart 205 (thirty-four posthumously)
Navy Commendation Medal 9
Presidential Unit Citation 293 (thirty-four posthumously)
"In conclusion, I respectfully submit that USS Liberty wrote another chapter in the great heritage of Navy gallantry and that her personnel, from Commanding Officer to the most junior seaman, deserve the highest accolades and acknowledgment it is possible to bestow for their valor and acts of courage."
Captain Ward Boston, JAGC, US Navy (Ret.)
Counsel of the Court
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ALAN HIGGINS January 27, 1948 - June 8, 1967 Alan Higgins was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, on January 27, 1948, and enlisted in the Navy on September 16, 1965. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur C. Higgins of Dover, Delaware. Alan is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Grave #1773, Section 12.
FINAL DUTY ASSIGNMENT
U.S.S. Liberty (AGTR-5)
Other Comments:
USS Liberty Incident (Israel)
From Month/Year
June / 1967
To Month/Year
June / 1967
Description The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats, on 8 June 1967, during the Six-Day War. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two marines, and one civilian), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship. At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.
Israel apologized for the attack, saying that the USS Liberty had been attacked in error after being mistaken for an Egyptian ship. Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the ship's identity, though others, including survivors of the attack, have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.
In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3,323,500 (US$22.9 million 2017) in compensation to the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3,566,457 to the men who had been wounded. On 18 December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 million as settlement for the final U.S. bill of $17,132,709 for material damage to Liberty herself plus 13 years' interest.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
June / 1967
To Month/Year
June / 1967
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories On 2 June 1967, she sailed from Rota, Spain; and took station approximately 13 miles off the coast of El Arish, Sinai, United Arab Republic on 8 June, the fourth day of the brief Arab-Israeli War. That day, while conducting communications and electronic research operations, she was attacked by jet fighters at 1403 l.t. A bomb hit portside amidships, and two or more Israeli fighters made repeated straffing, fragmentation bomb, and rocket runs over the ship. As a result, three major fires raged topside. At 1424, three motor torpedo boats, flying the Israeli flag, approached at high speed and at 1434 attacked. Three torpedoes were fired; one passed astern, a second may have passed beneath the ship, and the third exploded on the starboard side, forward, tearing a 39-foot-wide hole in the hull; 34 men were killed, 169 were wounded in the aircraft and torpedo boat attacks. Although severely wounded. Comdr. W. L. McGonagle, the commanding officer, remained at the conn to guide the ship out of shallow water. As the gyrocompass was knocked out, and the magnetic compass was of uncertain reliability, Commander McGonagle steered the ship, using its wake and the azimuth of the afternoon sun as reference points. Although the American flag was flying prior to both attacks, Israel maintained the attacks were due to mistaken identity. Navy fighters were launched from the America to provide air cover, and the Washington-Moscow hotline was put to use to prevent any misunderstanding that could have led to a U.S.-Soviet confrontation.