On Monday, June 8, Rep. Thomas Massie will take the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to remember the 34 American sailors, Marines, and civilians killed when Israeli forces attacked the USS Liberty nearly six decades ago.
The Kentucky Republican announced the speech on social media Thursday, June 4, noting it will mark the exact anniversary of the 1967 assault. The remarks are expected to air live on C-SPAN.
What Happened During the 1967 USS Liberty Attack?
The attack happened during the Six-Day War as the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence ship, sat in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli jets and torpedo boats struck the vessel in a barrage that lasted about two hours. Machine guns, rockets, and torpedoes tore into the ship, killing 34 Americans and wounding 171 others.
The dead included 31 sailors, two Marines, and one civilian from the National Security Agency.
Survivors described chaos on board that began with jets first strafing the deck before torpedo boats moved in close and fired. One torpedo ripped a massive hole in the hull.
As their radios failed, crewmen fought fires, tended the injured, and tried to keep the ship afloat. Many who survived still call the day a nightmare America has mostly forgotten.
Israel said its forces mistook the Liberty for an Egyptian ship. Both governments later conducted inquiries and officially accepted that explanation as a case of mistaken identity in the fog of war.
Long-Running Questions Continue to Surround the Incident
Israel apologized and paid millions in compensation to the families of the dead and to the wounded, but questions have never fully gone away.
Survivors and some former U.S. officials have long maintained the attack was deliberate, citing the ship’s large American flag and obvious markings, and the fact that Israeli planes had flown over the USS Liberty several times earlier in the day.
Massie, who has often broken with his party on foreign policy, described the strike in his post as “unprovoked.” He plans to pay tribute to both the dead and the wounded during his floor speech.
The USS Liberty incident remains one of the most controversial chapters in U.S.-Israel relations. The ship was a technical research vessel gathering intelligence near a hot combat zone.
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The U.S. had not fully coordinated its exact position with Israeli commanders amid the fast-moving war.
Critics say that poor communication played a role, but others insist the lengthy nature of the attack, including efforts to sink the ship and shoot at life rafts, suggests more than a simple mistake.
For years, many in Washington treated the topic as settled. Official reports from both countries pointed to error rather than intent.
Yet books, documentaries, and survivor accounts have kept the debate alive. Some point to the quick U.S. acceptance of Israel’s explanation under President Lyndon Johnson, who was focused on the Vietnam War and preserving ties with Israel.
Others note that medals were awarded quietly, with the Medal of Honor to the ship’s commander, Capt. William McGonagle was presented without the usual White House ceremony.
Massie’s decision to speak on the House floor invites fresh attention and debate on the matter. In recent years, he has opposed unconditional U.S. support for Israel and questioned the scale of American aid.
Liberty Veterans Continue Seeking Answers Nearly Six Decades Later
The remaining USS Liberty survivors, now in their late 70s and 80s, have spent decades pressing for fuller declassification of records and a fresh congressional look at what happened.
One survivor, Phil Tourney, has been vocal about the crew’s treatment after the attack, saying the government wanted the story to disappear.
Monday’s speech will come 59 years to the day after the assault. The USS Liberty itself was repaired enough to reach port but was later deemed too damaged for full service and sold for scrap.
Its crew received the Presidential Unit Citation for their efforts to save the ship under fire.
