Questions remain on USS Liberty anniversary

USS LIberty - Gunfire and rocket damage to her hull side and superstructure, inflicted when she was attacked by Israeli forces off the Sinai Peninsula on 8 June 1967.Photographed after she arrived at Valletta, Malta, for repairs. Photo is dated June 16.

CEDAR RAPIDS Ed Flaherty wasnt aboard the USS Liberty when torpedoes ripped through its metal body on June 8, 1967.

The Iowa City resident wasnt among the 34 men who died when Israeli forces attacked the Navy technical research ship, nor was he one of the more than 170 injured in the incident.

But Flaherty, the president of Chapter 161 of Veterans for Peace, will be among those who gather today to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the tragedy.

Israeli and U.S. officials have said the attack was accidental, but others argue that its been the subject of a 45-year government cover-up.

Chronology

The USS Liberty was carrying nearly 300 people as it patrolled international waters in the Mediterranean Sea near the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War, which pitted U.S. ally Israel against several neighboring Arab nations.

Israeli planes targeted the slow-moving Liberty shortly after 2 p.m., using weapons including rockets and machine-gun fire. Several boats then launched torpedoes at the ship before pounding it with cannon and machine-gun fire.

The Liberty was eventually able to send a distress call, and the attack ended once the USS Saratoga and the USS America were dispatched to help.

Joe Carpenter, a Waterloo resident and USS Liberty survivor, told the Courier newspaper that the attack was pretty chaotic, to be sure. He and a friend had just left an area of the ship that was struck by one torpedo, which ended up being responsible for most of the deaths.

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Questions remain on USS Liberty anniversary