Bucks County Courier-Times June 13, 1999 TOUCHING REPONSES FROM SURVIVORS OF AMBUSHED SHIP by Jerry Jonas Rarely have responses from readers of this column touched me as much as those received following my recent piece on the funeral of U.S. Navy Captain William L. McGonagle. McGonagle who was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in April, was the commanding officer of the USS Liberty, a U.S. intelligence ship that had suffered an unprovoked air and sea attack by the armed forces of Israel, during the 6-Day Arab/Israeli war. During the June 7, 1967 attack, 34 young Americans died, and another 171 were wounded - many of them critically. McGonagle, who had remained at his battle station for 17 hours despite being severely wounded, was awarded the Medal of Honor. The Israeli government later apologized and claimed the attack was accidental, but numerous US government and military leaders, and the Liberty's surviving crew members insisted that the attack was deliberate. In an attempt to downplay the embarrassing incident, those survivors were quickly dispersed and forbidden to speak about the attack in public. McGonagle's Medal was presented by the Secretary of the Navy in the obscurity of the Washington Navy Yard rather than by the President at the White House. For nearly thirty years, most surviving crew members kept their silence. Those who described what had happened, were often branded anti-semitic. Then, two years before his death, McGonagle finally spoke out and tearfully pleaded that the US and Israeli governments provide the crew and the American public the facts of what happened and why the Liberty was attacked. His plea has still gone unheeded. McGonagle was buried with full military honors, yet his funeral was all but ignored by high ranking government officials and most of the nation's press. Within days of the column's appearance. telephone and E-mails messages -many of them from surviving crew members - started to arrive from all over the country. A small sampling follows: "I would like to thank and complement you for your moving article concerning the passing of our commanding officer, Captain William L. McGonagle," wrote Liberty survivor, Samuel "Rocky" Sturman. "It is not often we get to see the truth put to paper." " I just wanted to thank you for the article about our Captain and for standing by us," wrote Liberty survivor, Glenn Kelly. "That was a great tribute. It's people like you that make me proud to have served our country." "I read your wonderful column on our Captain, William L. McGonagle." wrote survivor .John Hrankowski. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our Captain meant the world to us and I think we meant the world to him. It has been hard to get good things written about the Liberty and its crew, but you sure showed them how it's done." "I am one of the U.S.S. Liberty survivors and would like to say thank you very much for the article you wrote about our Captain William L. McGonagle," began a message from survivor, Clyde Way. "We lost a great leader and we will surely miss him. June 8, 1967 is a day all survivors will never forget, even when others have. Thanks for expressing what we have been trying to say for all these 32 years." "Thanks so very; much for the article that you wrote. It really meant a lot to me and I am sure it meant a lot to the rest of the crew as well," wrote survivor, Dennis A. Patten "Maybe some day we will learn the truth. I can only hope so. "Thank you for the wonderful words about our Captain," wrote Phillip F. Tourney, president of the Liberty Veterans Association. "He was the best skipper I ever served under - a very good man and loved by all. Thank you for not forgetting a true American Hero. This country needs more men like you telling it like it is." "Your article regarding the funeral of Captain McGonagle was one of the very best articles of its kind that I've ever seen." wrote John Gidusko. "It's apparent to me that you really have done your homework, and I think the survivors owe you a debt of gratitude for a job well done. Although an ex-crew member, I was relieved by Lt. Jim Ennes (who wrote the book ‘Assault on the Liberty'), and transferred to my next assignment just five weeks prior to the incident. Many of my close friends were killed or wounded (during the attack)." - 30 - 30 - 30 - Jerry Jonas' column appears every Sunday. You can leave a message for Jerry at 949-0376, or write to him c/o Life Department, Bucks County Courier-Times, 8400 Rt. 13, Levittown, PA 19057.