LOSS OF LIBERTY: THE 1976 ISRAELI WAR 2 OF 4

LOSS OF LIBERTY-1976 ISRAELI WAR DOCUMENTARY PART 2 OF 4

Despite being fully aware of its status, at 2:00 in the afternoon, three unmarked Israeli Mystere and Mirage III fighter jets pummeled the Liberty with rockets and cannon fire. These bombers initially went after the ship’s antennae and electronics dishes, in the process filling the American flag full of holes. As sailors fled for cover, Liberty crewmen hoisted a new, even larger 7x13 foot flag into the air. But this new, even larger flag didn’t stop the Israeli onslaught as they sprayed the Liberty with napalm – the highly incendiary substance burning the sailor’s flesh.

While this unprovoked act of war was taking place, radio operators aboard the Liberty tried to signal for help. But their SOS distress messages were not heard because the Israeli’s had deliberately jammed all five of the Liberty’s emergency radio channels – a phenomenon that shows quite clearly that the interfering party was aware of their target beforehand and had previously zeroed in on it, for to jam a stranger’s radio in such a rapid manner is virtually impossible.

Unable to get help, the U.S.S. Liberty, with eight sailors already dead and 100 wounded, including Commander William McGonagle, was a sitting duck for the Israeli’s who, at 2:24 pm, sent in three torpedo boats loaded with thousands of pounds of explosives. With their target already in flames, the Israeli’s bombed the Liberty with shells, quickly killing 25 more men.

As firefighters and medical personnel tried to put out fires and save their ship and crew, they were repeatedly machine gunned by Israeli aircraft. By 3:15 pm, after it was apparent that the Israeli’s didn’t want to leave a single man alive, the crew abandoned ship. But as the surviving crewmen fled for their lives, Israeli warships, at close range, sprayed those rafts aboard the ship with gunfire, along with those carrying the wounded that had already been lowered into the water.