Attack

The USS Liberty was a US Naval SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) vessel that was stationed in the Mediterranean Sea on June 8th, 1967. The Liberty was stationed off the coast of Egypt in international waters, with several different language translators listening to any information they could pick up.

At this time, Israel had just launched an attack on Egypt, and the USS Liberty was there to listen for “Whatever was out there,” in the words of Petty Officer First Class Ron Kukal. The ship was cruising in the waters of the Mediterranean when the peaceful afternoon was marred by the sounds of jet noise.

The USS Liberty several months before the attack, in Cheseapeake Bay.

(wikipedia.org)

The attack on the Liberty happened in the afternoon of June 8th. Petty Officer First Class Ron Kukal said, “I was two decks down from the main deck. I was at my supervisor's desk when the word [came] from the 1mc (ships intercom) to prepare for torpedo attack. The torpedo actually hit about forty or so feet from me. I was in deep prayer for my life, after the Captain came over intercom system, and said the torpedos were coming. They fired five and hit us with one, on the forward starboard side of the ship.”

Petty Officer First Class Ronald Kukal (Right).

(togetherweserved.com)

Petty Officer Second Class Larry Bowen was also near the torpedo strike. “I was standing a day watch in Radio Research 1 which is the room next to where the torpedo entered. When the Captain called General Quarters I moved up one deck to my general quarters station and continued copying code. As soon as the torpedo hit those of us who weren’t in flooded compartments did everything we could to help get everyone out and up to safer areas."

Petty Officer Larry Bowen

(The Michigan Daily)

Meanwhile, one deck below Petty Officer Bowen, Petty Officer Kukal was in trouble. “I didn’t see a whole lot when the torpedo exploded. The compartment I was in, instantly filed [sic] with water, up to my shoulders, and I made my way through the hatch, to the ladder, which led to the deck above me. It was much dryer one deck above me, but I was about the only one in that compartment that escaped with my life. There were others from another compartment and we were all scrambling up the ladder, or trying to, as we all wanted to get up to the deck above all at one time.”

Still a deck above Kukal, Bowen had managed to make his way to the mess deck area. “ I saw unbelievable carnage as a result of the straffing and napalming that had been going on for over an hour. Every table in our mess deck area had a seriously injured shipmate on it, and there were more scattered throughout the ship because we didn’t have room for all of them in one area.” Bowen’s job was not done that day, however. The phone talker had been seriously injured, and CT2 Bowen had to step in to fill his position. “My second assignment after assisting with the injured was to go to the fantail and be the phone talker. Our primary phone talker had been seriously injured, so that position had no one to man it. I could see the three motor torpedo boats on the horizon and reported that to the bridge. Shortly thereafter I saw an aircraft approaching from the starboard and also saw the wakes of the torpedo boats. The captain made the announcement to prepare for a second torpedo attack, but fortunately that never happened.”

The USS Liberty several days after the attacl.

(Naval History and Heritage Command)

The Attack on the USS Liberty on June 8th 1967