

Credit: Anthony Wells
I am writing not as a Naval Institute Press author or Proceedings contributor, but as the third Chairman of the Board of the USS Liberty Alliance, succeeding the late Admiral Thomas Moorer and Rear Admiral Clarence “Mark” Hill. On Behalf of the USS Liberty Alliance and the USS Liberty Veterans Association, thank you for publishing Captain Gene Thomas Gomulka’s fine article, “Remember the Liberty” in the June Proceedings. I have received many messages saying what a great article this is. Bravo Zulu to the U.S. Naval Institute!
I joined the Board as a very young man because the luminaries serving on it, such as Marine Medal of Honor recipient General Ray Davis and Judge Advocate of the Navy Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, considered that I had special expertise regarding the 1967 June War, the Soviet Union, Middle East, and the attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5). I had been the lead on a special program between 1976-77 that used all and every source of U.S.-U.K. intelligence to examine the June War from many perspectives. The attack on the Liberty became very central because of the Soviet involvement as Moshe Dayan planned and lead the attack on Syria. It is no secret that I had a special relationship with Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who permitted me to quote him at the unclassified level that the attack on the Liberty was deliberate. CIA Director Richard Helms asked that I be more circumspect about his role at the unclassified level.
With the sad passing of the fine naval leaders of the USS Liberty Alliance Board I became, by default, chairman. The usslibertydocumentcenter.org website is our main activity. As documents have been declassified we have uploaded them. CIA documents contain the usual redactions.
The Naval Institute Press published a book by Jay Cristol on the Liberty attack, with a subtitle, “The Definitive Account of the 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship.” Cristol’s book has inaccuracies and misrepresentations of fact, and its conclusions are wrong. Documents on our web site tells what really happened.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the attack on the Liberty, and I will be at Arlington Cemetery with surviving crew members and others. We will honor the courage, endurance, and fortitude of the Liberty, the most highly decorated warship in the history of the U.S. Navy in a single action. This ship and its crew serve as examples to current and future generations of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Admiral Moorer, if he were alive, would want me to thank the Naval Institute for publishing this article.
Read more about the USS Liberty attack on Naval History: “The Spy Ship Left Out in the Cold.”