Before Israeli commandos shot 9 peace activists to death aboard the Mavi Marmara, 34 American military men were killed by Israeli jet fighter planes. It happened in 1967 during the 6 day war and it became an event these men and women would live with for the rest of their lives. For 40 years survivors of the USS Liberty -- sworn under oath -- were forbidden to tell their stories. But today, the surviving crewmen talk candidly about the dreadful day their nearly lost their lives. They gathered at the Arlington National Cemetery for the somber memorial service.
The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4] Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the identity of the USS Liberty,[5] though others have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[6] In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3,323,500 (US$22.2 million in 2012) as full payment to the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3,566,457 in compensation to the men who had been wounded. On 18 December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 million as settlement for the final U.S. bill of $17,132,709 for material damage to the Liberty itself plus 13 years' interest.[7]
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