Friday, June 17, 2005
Mission Memorial: Remembering the USS Liberty
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For the veterans of the USS Liberty, commemorating their fellow crew members killed in action became an all-consuming passion.
By Susan Katz Keating
On June 8, 1967, the USS Liberty was under way about 25 miles off the Gaza coast, in international waters. An old freighter-turned-intelligence ship, the Liberty clearly flew its U.S. flag while monitoring developments in the Arab-Israeli, or Six-Day, War.
At about 8 a.m., Liberty crewmen waved jaunty greetings to low-flying Israeli reconnaissance planes. Six hours later, the friendly greetings turned to frantic shouts, as Israeli fighter-bombers and torpedo boats strove mercilessly to sink the unarmed ship.
By the time the assault was over, 34 crewmen were dead. Another 171--including the ship's captain--lay wounded.
Afterward, Israel said it had mistaken the Liberty for an Egyptian warship. The surviving Liberty crewmen--and a number of U.S. government officials--believed the attack was deliberate. And yet, the issue seemed to evaporate from public consciousness. Almost as soon as it happened, the Liberty incident was cast aside--by all but the crewmen.
Remember the Liberty
In the years since the attack, Liberty survivors have steadfastly worked to create more than 30 memorials to their fallen crewmen. The memorials have taken the form of golf course tee boxes, street names, military barracks, a medical clinic and even a library. In the process, the veterans have encountered both effusive support and intense opposition. Throughout, the goal has remained unchanged: Remember the Liberty.
"The survivors still don't have all the answers to what happened," says Mike Pierson, commander of VFW Post 3699 in Indio, Calif. "But they understand each other and their purpose in dedicating these memorials."
Pierson, who did not serve onboard the ship, worked closely with Liberty survivor Don Pageler to dedicate a tree to the USS Liberty crew and Capt. William McGonagle.
As an outsider, Pierson saw not only Pageler's determination to memorialize the crew, but also learned much about the Liberty veterans and their ongoing quest. "They stayed loyal to each other, and to the men who died on the Liberty," he says. "They devoted themselves to setting up these memorials. It's been like a mission."
Going on the Offensive
The mission took shape in 1982, when survivors held their first reunion and formed the Liberty Veterans Association. Among other things, the group decided that they would memorialize the ship and her fallen crew.
One by one, the veterans took action.
Ron Kukal, who was perilously close to the point of impact when an Israeli torpedo hit the Liberty, began writing to various states and cities, requesting official proclamations honoring the
Liberty.
Bob Casale, who served on the Liberty but was not onboard during the attack, set up a commemorative display inside his business--Liberty Plumbing and Heating Supply--in Hicksville, N.Y.
Former ship's boilerman John Hrankowski persuaded reluctant officials in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to include a shipmate's name on a local war memorial.
Jim Ennes, who was an electronic materiel officer aboard the Liberty, took on Arlington National Cemetery. Ennes, the author of Assault on the Liberty, was incensed to discover that a six-man grave for Liberty dead at Arlington contained the inscription, "Died in the Eastern Mediterranean."
The inscription implied that the men were killed "in a whorehouse fire or a taxicab accident in Beirut," Ennes says. He embarked on a campaign to change the inscription to read, "Killed - USS Liberty."
"That grave was soon regarded as a memorial and was visited by the crew at each reunion," Ennes says. "Things went on from there."
However, the pursuit of remembrance has not entirely been smooth sailing.
Battle of Grafton
In 1987, the village of Grafton, Wis., decided to build a new library using only donated funds. Two brothers, Ben and Ed Grob, contributed $400,000. This entitled them to pick the library's name.
The elderly duo had read Ennes' book and were moved to honor the ship. They asked to name the new structure the USS Liberty Memorial Library.
"I was so choked up I couldn't talk," says former Grafton village president Jim Grant, a Navy veteran who knew the USS Liberty story. "I thought it was a beautiful and fitting tribute."
Grant also thought that the proposed name would not present a problem. "Well ... surprise, surprise," Grant says. "The opposition was overwhelming."
Angry outsiders falsely accused the townspeople of anti-Semitism.
"That was the disorienting part," says villager John Dickmann, who was involved in fund-raising for the library. "They tried to make it seem as if we were against the entire state of Israel because we planned to name our library after the Liberty."
"It had nothing to do with the state of Israel," Grant says. "This was a memorial to American servicemen."
The controversy dragged on for two years, during which time the Milwaukee Journal led the opposition. Protesters came in via bus from Milwaukee to disrupt the groundbreaking. Hecklers attended the dedication. Police were on hand to provide protection. But the library went up as planned and has not been the focus of further controversy.
'An Inspiration'
Elsewhere, memorials rejected by one locale enthusiastically were adopted by another.
A city in Michigan turned down the offer of a memorial stone listing crewmembers' names. Instead, because of the efforts of curator Stan Bozich, Michigan's Own Military and Space Museum in Frankenmuth welcomed the stone.
The U.S. Navy actually rejected an offer to house the USS Liberty's flag. The battle-worn colors found a home at the National Security Agency's National Cryptologic Museum at Ft. George Meade, Md., where it was made part of a display honoring the former spy ship.
"The Liberty exhibit has been one of our most popular displays," says recently retired museum curator Jack Ingram. "People tend to really look at it."
In Zimmerman, Minn., citizens eagerly chipped in to build a memorial and picnic area dedicated to the Liberty; American Legion Post 560 raised $12,000 toward the project. At Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, the USS Liberty's original commissioning plaque was made part of a park display.
Next on the agenda: placing a plaque in the home state of every Liberty crewman killed in the attack. Gary Brummett and other members of the Liberty Veterans Association board are spearheading the effort.
"Their loyalty is unwavering," the VFW's Pierson marvels. "It's an inspiration to us all."
Editor's Note: At least nine Liberty vets are VFW members, including Mark Kram, who is commander of Post 7464 in Grasonville, Md. This article would not have been possible without the special efforts of Ron Kukal and Don Pageler.
Susan Katz Keating is a free-lance writer based in Virginia.
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.magDtl&dtl=3&mid=2639
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