WHAT I SAW THAT DAY: Israel’s June 8, 1967 Holocaust of U.S. Servicemen Aboard the USS Liberty and its Aftermath
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When U.S. Navy sailor Phil Tourney saw Israeli planes circling
the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, he and his crew-mates
thought nothing of it. The Israelis waved at the
crew and the Liberty crew waved back. Liberty was a
unique vessel, unlike any other in the world, with a large tower and
radio dishes used for eavesdropping, so the chance it could be mistaken
for an “enemy” vessel were zero. The oversize U.S. flag and
the large ID numbers painted on the ship also made identification
of the ship possible from miles away.
Imagine the shock and horror
when the Israelis attacked the lightly armed intelligence gathering
vessel in broad daylight. A torpedo was fired and struck Liberty dead on. Israeli aircraft strafed the men aboard and dropped
napalm on the decks. Torpedo boats machine-gunned the crew as
they tried to rescue wounded U.S. servicemen. The Israelis even
shot up life rafts to prevent any escape.
The attack lasted for hours.
And Phil Tourney lived through it.
Here is his story. A complete description of the attack, everything he saw that day,
and details of the ensuing threats from U.S. military officers and government officials
to shut up or face dire consequences.
Phil and co-author Mark Glenn also recount the brave men who with this book
are breaking the wall of censorship that has surrounded this decades-old event.
It also details the personal toll inflicted upon Phil and the
crew—the years of harassment from Israeli agents and high-level
U.S. government lackeys and the trauma of the events.
Readers of this book have called it the best book ever written on
the USS Liberty attack. And if you’ve read books or seen films
about it in the past, these readers say this book picks up where those
left off, revealing intimate details of the events that none other has
dared touch.
Many have been brought to tears by Phil’s story.
But he seeks no profit, no glory, no accolades.
This book was written and dedicated to those men who were
killed and wounded that June day in 1967—and to the myriad lives
that were changed by one of the most treacherous acts in modern
history.
Softcover, 282 pages
Excerpt:
And in an instant I lost all respect for authority. I lost my respect for the U.S. Navy. I lost respect for my country. I would never trust them again. Ever. From then on, although I would salute as required, what I would be thinking within the confines of my own mind would be, “KISS MY ASS SIR.” As far as I was concerned they were—all of them—accomplices to cold-blooded murder, and the worst part was that they knew it. This is not the mark of a leader, it is the mark of a coward or traitor.