Remembering those who lost their lives in Israel's attack on the USS Liberty

Melvin Douglas Smith, February 27, 1938 - June 8, 1967

MELVIN DOUGLAS SMITH  February 27, 1938 - June 8, 1967 Melvin Douglas Smith, February 27, 1938 - June 8, 1967

Melvin Douglas Smith, the firstborn child of Carl and Agnes Smith, was raised in Alamance, North Carolina, a small village near Burlington. Doug, along with his three sisters and one brother, always loved the beauty of water, and he grew up swimming and fishing. After leaving E. M. Holt High School at eighteen, he followed that love of water to the Navy, which he joined in April 1956.

When he finished boot camp, Doug entered Navy communications school, and then returned home on leave to marry Judy Lyon, whom he had dated since she was 16. The couple moved to Puerto Rico in 1959, and their first two sons, Douglas and Mark, were born there at Rodriguez Army Hospital.

The family later moved to Pensacola, Florida, where Doug served as a teacher in the Naval Communications Training Center. (In October of 1967, Smith Hall, a dormitory there, was dedicated in his memory.) He achieved his chief's rank, eight years after entering the service, and also took up golf with a passion. According to Judy, Doug had always been a reader, and now he devoured "book after book after book on golf." He was soon shooting regularly in the 80's.

In May of 1966 Doug received an assignment to sea duty, and he boarded the USS Liberty on May 31, 1966. The family had moved back to North Carolina, and another son, Tim, was born there. The Liberty docked on February 28, 1967, and Doug rushed home to see his youngest son for the first time.

Doug's death on the Liberty continues to shiver through the lives of those who loved him. His oldest son, Douglas, recently wrote a poem for his father, "Epitaph at Sea with Constellation Above." In the poem, his father disappears, line by line, from the world:

Mariner, descend, and the sea conceal
bird and sky and the drowned father below,
who shall not sing, who shall not rise, but dwells
among the abandoned gods, a body
unfolding dark, restless and fathoms deep.

Summary

CTC Melvin Douglas Smith, USN, 493 95 96
Born 27 February 1938, Alamance, North Carolina
Active duty since 4 April 1956
Wife: Judith Ann Smith, 304 Moreno Courts, Warrington, Florida
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. Carlton Melvin Smith, Alamance, North Carolina
Died in Naval Security Group (intelligence) Department spaces 
Remembrance: Smith Barracks in Florida

Israel-Palestine Timeline

Israel-Palestine Timeline: The human cost of the conflict records photos and information for each person who has been killed in the ongoing violence.

History of the Israel Lobby


Alison Weir's book Against Our Better Judgement: How the U.S. was used to create Israel brings together meticulously sourced evidence to outline the largely unknown history of U.S.-Israel relations.


Buy it on Amazon, and visit the book website for reviews, more ordering options, and upcoming author events.

IsraelPalestineNews.org


Information largely missing from U.S. news reports. Read the Blog


Inform Your Community
Liberty booklets, brochures, and flyers

Booklets, brochures, and more to educate your community about the USS Liberty

Multimedia

Video: USS Liberty Memorial - June 8, 2009

Interview with Captain Boston, the 1967 Chief Attorney in the Liberty Investigation

Documentary: Dead in the Water

Documentary: The Day Israel Attacked America

Additional Resources

Booklets, Flyers, & More on the USS Liberty

An Evidentiary Study of the USS Liberty Attack

Arlington National Cemetery: William Loren McGonagle

Q & A – Commonly Asked Questions about the Attack on the USS Liberty

Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry

Affidavit – Counsel to the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry’s investigation

Book – Assault on the Liberty

Book – Body of Secrets : Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency

Documentary – Dead in the Water

Organizations

USS Liberty Memorial Website

Honor Liberty Veterans

Stay Informed

Sign up for our mailing list and receive an email whenever we post a new article on our news site, Israel-Palestine News.


This website is printer-friendly. Please Print this article and share it with your friends and family.