Thirty-four years ago, June 8, 1967, a lightly armed United States Navy Ship, the USS Liberty, was assaulted by a combined effort of the Israeli Defense Forces, whose Air Force and Naval units conducted an hour-long attack that resulted in the deaths of 34 U.S. crewmen and the wounding of an additional 173. Waves of Mirage jets pounded the ship for nearly 30 minutes with rockets, cannon, and machine gun fire. Slower moving Mystere jets dropped canisters of jelled gasoline (napalm) hoping to start fires that could not be controlled. Attacking aircraft withdrew and were replaced by three motor torpedo boats that launched a total of five torpedoes, one hitting the starboard side of Liberty. Israelis said later that they thought they were attacking an Egyptian freighter.     Medal of Honor Bestowed Upon USS Liberty's Commander William L. McGonagle   The USS Liberty was ordered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to stream a position off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula because war in the Middle East was inevitable. During the early morning hours of Monday, June 5, 1967, Israel invaded Egypt and neighboring Arab countries. Liberty was 1,000 miles away from the theater of operation. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Israel continued its conquest of Arab nations and by Thursday morning, when Liberty arrived on station, Israel controlled the land, sea, and air. At 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, without warning, Israeli jets attacked Liberty.   Despite being seriously wounded by shrapnel, Commander William McGonagle remained on the bridge throughout the ordeal. His courage under fire inspired Liberty's crewmen to fight to save the ship. When a torpedo disabled the power plant and steering capabilities, Commander McGonagle, together with those of the crew not killed or wounded, managed to get the ship underway. For the next 17 hours, Commander McGonagle stayed at his post, sometimes lying on the deck to control bleeding, and steered the ship toward Sixth Fleet ships racing to Liberty's aid. McGonagle's heroism earned him our nation's highest award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.     We Remember Them... 34 Who Died   William Allenbaugh Philip Armstrong, Jr. Gary Blanchard Allen Blue Francis Brown Ronnie Campbell Jerry Converse Robert Eisenberg Jerry Goss Curtis Graves Lawrence Hayden Warren Hersey Alan Higgins Carl Hoar Richard Keene James Lenau Raymond Linn James Lupton Duane Marggraf David Marlborough Anthony Mendle Carl Nygren Dave O'Connor James Pierce Jack Raper Edward Rehmeyer Tom Riley David Skolak John Smith, Jr. Melvin Smith John Spicher Alexander Thompson Thomas Thornton Phillipe Tiedtke Stephen Toth Frederick Walton     Click the image to enlarge.   Comment: Full view of the lightly armed USS Liberty.   Comment: Side view of USS Liberty after the attack showing the torpedo hole.   Comment: Close-up of torpedo hole.