Survivors of USS Liberty attack want questions answered

He says he and other members of the USS Liberty Association are want the story to be told and for the truth to come out.

Smith was a 20-year old damage controlman third class on June 8, 1967, when the Norfolk-based USS Liberty was attacked. Today, he’s 60 and a retired lieutenant commander.

clipped from www.wvec.com They just didn't see it coming. But why would they? "Nobody expected anything out of the ordinary. Then there were jets strafing us with rockets and machine gun fire, napalm starting fires on the ship,” recalled Jim Smith That was before the torpedoes were fired. "Luckily, four of them missed. One of them didn't," he said, adding it disabled his ships's communications systems. Smith was a 20-year old damage controlman third class on June 8, 1967, when the Norfolk-based USS Liberty was attacked. Today, he’s 60 and a retired lieutenant commander. The hour-long attack took place 12 miles from the Sinai Peninsula during the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. 34 men lost their lives. 172 men were wounded. “We feel that the incident was deliberate, that the Israelis, for whatever reason, were trying to destroy our communication interception abilities,” he said, “and it was covered up not only by the Israeli government but by the American government.”