Please Give a Long-Awaited “Welcome Home” to USS LibertySurvivors

NOVANEWS

This past Memorial Day, President Barack Obama offered Vietnam veterans a “welcome home” that many feel the nation never gave them. Obama commemorated the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC on May 28.

We strongly urge President Obama to commemorate a group of Vietnam-era veterans who have been given the silent treatment—or worse—ever since they returned home 45 years ago. Survivors of Israel’s June 8, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, which killed 34 Americans and wounded 174 more, were forbidden to discuss Israel’s attack or the subsequent recall of the U.S. aircraft sent to assist their stricken ship. It is the only such naval incident never to have been investigated by the U.S. government or Congress.

1. Please call for an investigation to help bring closure to the sailors and their families who have suffered and felt betrayed by their country for 45 years.
2. Sign the “SignOn.org” petition http://signon.org/sign/investigate-the-attack calling for an investigation. The petition will be delivered to President Obama, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
3. Join the memorial service for the USS Liberty victims on June 8, 2012 at noon at the Mass Grave #1817, Section 34, in Arlington National Cemetery.
4. Encourage your member of Congress to draft a statement to be read at the USSLiberty Memorial service. A file with an example is: http://usslibertyveterans.org/draft/ussliberty_draft.html
5. Watch the confrontation about the USS Liberty with Sen. John McCain on Memorial Day 2012:http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bae_1338255873.
6. For more information about the USS Liberty see: http://www.usslibertyveterans.org/files/docs.pdf.
   
   
7. Please read some of the articles about the USS Liberty published by the Washington Reportover the past 30 years.  On Jan. 12, 2004 the U.S. State Department held a highly charged panel discussion on the attack, and prevented survivors and military experts who played a role in the tragedy from speaking (see Washington Report, March 2004, pages 9-11,http://www.wrmea.org/archives/259-washington-report-archives-2000-2005/march-2004/5019-those-not-invited-to-speak-steal-the-show-at-state-department-liberty-discussion.html.

It’s past time for a serious discussion with USS Liberty survivors and other experts. It is the least these unsung heroes—and all Americans—deserve.