USS Liberty Remembered 42 Years Later

Alison Weir
June 8, 2009

Today, the 42nd anniversary of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, a memorial service was held at Arlington National Cemetery, sponsored by the White House Commission on Remembrance. (The commission grew out of the non-profit organization No Greater Love; its mission is to provide yearly programs to remember Americans killed in service or by acts of terrorism.)

About 8 Liberty survivors were in attendance and a few dozen friends, family, and supporters.

During the service, the names of the 34 fallen shipmates were read. After each name, a bell was rung at the grave site.

At 3pm, the survivors went to the Naval Heritage Center, which is located next to the Naval Memorial in Washington D.C. and presented a model of the USS Liberty to the Center, which will put it on public display. Rear Admiral Edward Walker graciously accepted the model and said that the Naval Heritage Center is extremely proud to honor the USS Liberty veterans in this way.

At 5pm several Liberty veterans and others went to the White House, where they hoped to give President Obama a USS Liberty hat and USS Liberty jacket with Barack Obama inscribed on the it.

They were not allowed onto the White House grounds and were told that people are not allowed to give presents directly to the president. They were given an address and told that they must mail them instead, which the survivors plan to do.

Some people handed out If Americans Knew cards about the Liberty to passersby and to White House staffers going in and out.

There was very little media coverage of these events. Two radio stations conducted extensive interviews – one from Portland, OR (KBOO) and the other from the Washington, DC area. There was one camera crew from Press TV.

The survivors and families say they will continue their efforts to obtain a full and open investigation into the attack.