Lest We Forget the Living and the Dead and the Consequences of the USS Liberty Cover Up

COMMENTARY

Philip Tourney recently wrote and published a memoir on the USS Liberty attack called  What I Saw That Day…Israel’s June 8 1967 Holocaust of US Servicemen Aboard the USS LIBERTY and its Aftermath ,  Liberty Publications; 1st edition (2010);  ISBN-10: 1450715540;   ISBN-13: 978-1450715546.  In a book review by a supposed reader and obvious apologist, he said of Phil and his book:

“I found only 5% of the book was the actual eyewitness account. What there was of it was honest and compelling.  As are all eyewitness accounts, it was also disjointed, myopic and told by an uninformed survivor.  There is no correlation with other witness accounts or with documented evidence.”

That  “uninformed survivor” was the three time President of the Liberty Veterans Association and an eyewitness to the attack who was not  allowed to speak or present his side of the story, testify at any of  the 13 imaginary investigations and ordered never to speak of it by his superiors after the attack. He was decorated for his actions and to say “all eyewitness accounts” are “disjointed, myopic” is just apologist nonsense.  History is hugely  filled by credible eyewitnesses  BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE.   Phil is entitled to say whatever he wishes and the reviewer is entitled to disagree.  A fellow USS Liberty survivor replied and added a little known page to the attack story on a very personal and moving way of the consequence of that attack in defense of his shipmate and his book. The Liberty/pro-Israel apologists are full of crap and are the only myopic ones.  There has never been any open honest first time investigation of that USS Liberty attack devoid of politics necessitated by cover up.  Never.  (‘attack’ being the operative word here) Only 14 Liberty crew ever testified. The remaining were ordered to remain silent.

Ron Kukal

Ron Kukal, Petty Officer, Communications Technician, USS Liberty survivor and Chaplain for the USS Liberty Veteran’s Association wrote:

“I find it strange that a review of an eyewitness Pearl Harbor survivor is accepted so easily while the Liberty survivors statements are questioned at every turn and of course the old stand by anti-semitism will usually rear it’s ugly head somewhere along the line. What is the difference between what the survivors of the USS Liberty saw and the victims of Pearl Harbor?”

“I find it laughable that your review speaks of Phil as an uninformed survivor. After all he was only in the thick of it all, and received the Bronze Star for his heroism. Did you even read the book?”

“As one of the survivors and the enlisted man in charge of the body recovery and identification, I often marvel at the reviews that an eyewitness receives when telling the story of what he actually saw that day.  I know a bit about what Phil saw on June 8, 1967 and of course there may be some ranting at times.   The anger this has caused when one really knows the truth would cause anyone to rant, and I would probably be the first. The slaughter that I was exposed to after the ship was put in drydock, and we could really see the carnage has for the most part been blotted from my brain.”

“I do know I was there, I do know I picked up arms, legs, torsos, and even a head now and then to try and put it all on the right person. A jigsaw puzzle of huge proportions. To say I was a complete mess when I returned home would be an understatement.The attack was horrible, but the aftermath should go on record, and the aftermath still goes on as our government keeps a tight lid on the real story.

As this great nation that we all love changes from what seems to be bad to worse, I often wonder if the very fact that we have allowed this terrible thing to happen to our military people could be the reason for the pain we are all suffering at this very moment. Please understand that the aftermath has not gone away for many of us who love this country and who would do anything to keep it intact.”

“I have seen these men fight back, I have seen men at our reunions that were still suffering from shrapnel wounds to the head, and one who had a seizure at the reunion. The first reunions were more like a funeral where one just couldn’t get their dead buried. It was like you just couldn’t keep them in the ground as they came back to the survivors in nightmares and terrible thoughts that would linger in broad daylight.”

“Phil is an ordinary guy put in extraordinary circumstances and he came though it about as well as anyone could.  He saved the lives of many CT’s who were trapped in the torpedoed spaces, and that would include mine. So when you read the book don’t think of Phil as anything but an ordinary man who performed as the U.S. Navy taught him, and I am here to tell my own story today because of his actions.”

“My own children were turned against me by my former wife who probably told them stories that were meant to scare them from their own father. I have not seen my oldest son for about fifteen years, and about the same for my daughter. My middle son tried to keep in contact with his dad and my youngest for some reason never lost contact. The aftermath goes on and on from a cover up. Thank God we are getting a chance to tell our story now before the lights go out.”

Why are these brave Liberty survivors on the upcoming 43rd anniversary of the attack (June 8th) where 34 of their shipmates were murdered and 173 wounded feel required to tell their stories and justify themselves  on  the book review pages of Amazon.com instead of their elected government officials??  The fact that they are still waiting after 43 years is beyond disgraceful.  They have every right to be angry.  They have the right to be heard,  Israel be damned.

Remember the USS Liberty the dead and the living who were forsaken by their government for the benefit of Israel and political expediency.

What I Saw That Day