RESOLUTION REGARDING THE JUNE 1967 ATTACK ON THE USS LIBERTY
WHEREAS, for democracy to work in determining governmental actions in a democratic society, all citizens need prompt accurate access to information relevant to policies and actions of their government, and
WHEREAS, in times of national attack and security threats in our country, temporary withholding of information is often necessary to protect lives and communities, and
WHEREAS, in order for a society to learn from history citizens need to have full access to all information available about incidents that occur (sinking of the Maine, Tonkin Gulf attack, My Lai), and
WHEREAS, the attack on an unarmed United States naval vessel U.S.S. Liberty on June 8, 1967, has never received full or honest disclosure and Naval personnel who served on the U.S.S. liberty on June 8, 1967 have been threatened with severe punishment if they described their experiences of this attack which resulted in the death of 34 U.S. servicemen and the wounding of 172 sailors, and
WHEREAS, the Liberty's Captain and the members of the crew all stated they believe the Israelis planned to leave no survivors to describe the attack, and
WHEREAS, the U.S.S. Liberty is the most decorated ship in the history of the US Navy: The Medal of Honor for the Skipper, Captain William McGonagle; two Navy Crosses; 11 Silver Stars; 23 Bronze Stars; 206 Purple Hearts, and the Presidential unit Citation,
THEREFORE, be it Resolved that the United States Congress initiates an in depth, full and honest investigation into the events of that day, June 8, 1967, in relation to the attack on the U.S.S. Liberty.
Passed at 2002 VFP National Convention Duluth, Aug 17, 2002