Joe Meadors in a letter to Congressman Blake Farenthold

“Survivor and LVA President Joe Meadors writes his representative
Blake Farenthold regarding his concerns for Mr. Joenjes’ safety
in sailing his sailboat to the spot where the Liberty was attacked,
and requests his congressman to contact the Israeli Embassy to
ensure they are notified as to his intentions. (More:)”

http://gidusko.webs.com/temp/SV&USS_Liberty-Larry_Toenjes.pdf

USS LIBERTY VETERANS ASSOCIATION

4322 Wood River Drive

Corpus Christi, TX 78410-5643

Tel: 361-215-5213; Fax: 425-675-5646

Email: joe@ussliberty.com

http://www.usslibertyveterans.org

July 27, 2011

The Honorable Blake Farenthold

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Farenthold:

Larry Toenjes is sailing his sailboat, the S/V Liberty, from Texas to a point off the coast of the

Sinai Peninsula where the USS Liberty was attacked on June 8, 1967. While there he will hold a

memorial service for our shipmates who were killed during that attack.

Tomorrow he leaves Spain on the way to the Eastern Mediterranean. At all times he will remain

in international waters well outside Gaza or Israeli territorial waters.

Given the US government’s long standing position of allowing the Israeli government to attack

and kill Americans with impunity we are concerned for Mr. Toenjes’ safety as he arrives at his

destination.

Evidence of that position is readily available when you consider the attack on our ship which was

conducted free from the threat of Sixth Fleet intervention due to orders to the Sixth Fleet directly

from the White House recalling two flights of rescue aircraft. That attack included the use of

unmarked aircraft, the jamming of our radios on both US Navy tactical and international

maritime distress frequencies and the deliberate machine gunning of our life rafts in the water by

the attacking torpedo boats. This elicited neither a word of outrage nor an investigation by the

US government.

You can also see that position in its application when you consider that an American citizen was

murdered on the Mavi Marmara during the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla in June, 2010

without a single word of concern (dare I say outrage) from the US government.

To put this on a personal level, since I was aboard the USS Liberty when the ship was attacked

and currently serve my shipmates as President of the USS Liberty Veterans Association I am

saddened and outraged that my own Congressman is totally unconcerned when informed of the

War Crimes that have been committed against the United States by Israel during the attack on

our ship. Your lack of concern blindly parrots the US government position’s and extends to your

unwillingness to even acknowledge War Crimes were committed with impunity despite a

plethora of evidence to support our allegations.

With that as background, my purpose in writing is to ask that you contact the Israeli Embassy

and ensure they are notified that Mr. Toenjes and the S/V Liberty have no intention of entering

into either Israeli or Gaza territorial waters. Hopefully the Israelis will allow Mr. Toenjes to

memorialize the sacrifices of the crew of the USS Liberty and our families free from Israeli

harassment.

Perhaps one day a Member of Congress will attend a similar ceremony that we perform.

Sincerely,

Joe Meadors,  President

 

from John Gidusko’s USS Liberty Newsletter #479  (7/29/11)