Visalia Resident Receives Silver Star For Heroism Aboard Ship In 1967 (USS LIBERTY)

[Purveyor]

Navy veteran Terry Halbardier never fails to remember the June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the USS Liberty that killed and wounded two-thirds of those on board.

"I think about it every day," he said.

Halbardier, who lives in Visalia, was awarded a Silver Star Wednesday morning for valor that day. Halbardier also received a Purple Heart three years ago for injuries during that battle.

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What happened

Halbardier repaired a downed antenna on deck during the attack, allowing him to issue a mayday to the Sixth Fleet.

The attack occurred in international waters off the coast of Gaza during the Arab-Israeli Six Day War. The Liberty, a navy intelligence ship, was there to monitor the war.

Instead, the ship was attacked by waves of Israeli fighters firing rockets, machine guns and napalm bomblets that dispersed a fiery jelly on the deck, according to some reports of the attack.

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Deliberate or accidental?

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Visalia Times-Delta: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20090528/NEWS01/905280317/1002/Visalia+resident+receives+Silver+Star+for+heroism+aboard+ship+in+1967

[ORDagnabbit]

1. oh yeah thats the one the Isrealis did a planned attack on our ship and we did nothing about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. . . . Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.
- Former US Secretary of State Dean Rusk

internal White House documents obtained from the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library show that the Israelis' explanation of how the mistake had occurred was not believed

Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty remains the only major maritime incident in American history not investigated by Congress