June 8, 1967, another date that lives in infamy.
Author Wayne Stiles writes for Medium…
This is my first article for Medium, so please be gentle! Over the past several weeks, I have commented on articles related to the Israel/Palestine War, only to be called antisemitic and racist. Nothing could be further from the truth. My feelings about the nation of Israel were formed long ago when I was a 26 year-old U.S. Navy pilot. Since very few seem to remember the events of June 8, 1967, I am writing about them.
Part One of a Two Part Essay — The Ugly Political Stuff is to Come in Part Two
I follow the climate crisis closely and like most that do, I understand the term “tipping point”. A tipping point is a point where a process has proceeded so far along that it can’t be reversed or stopped. It has taken 56 years but I have finally reached my tipping point with Israel and so this
article.
Prior to June 8, 1967, I was an unabashed supporter of Israel. That support was severely eroded during my first deployment as a rescue/utility helicopter pilot aboard the USS America (CVA-66). I was a new co-pilot on my first extended duty away from home and on the high seas. The America’s duty station was the Mediterranean Sea.
Evacuating the Wounded and Transporting the Dead
The relatively routine deployment, which included the rescue of one air wing jet pilot, normal air ops and visits to enjoyable ports, was abruptly interrupted on the afternoon of June 8th. Our “O in C” (Officer in Charge) called an all-pilots meeting to inform us that one of our ships in the eastern Mediterranean had been attacked. The air boss on the America wanted to know if our helicopters could reach the ship (she turned out to be the Liberty) that afternoon. We reported we did not have the range to make the flight, conduct a rescue operation and return to the carrier. My command pilot and I were then scheduled to launch at dawn the following day to assess, report and transport wounded back to the medical unit on the USS
America.
We lifted off the next morning and arrived over the Liberty in a little over an hour. The damage was horrific. We were unable to land on any part of the ship. The devastation was total and complete-the ship’s bridge had been severely damaged, hundreds of holes (later counted at 183) were seen throughout the superstructure. We hovered over the ship’s bow and began bringing up wounded sailors via the hoist. As the operation progressed I took in the aftermath of the attack more fully. I was shocked to see what appeared to be blood, sloshing back and forth in the ship’s forward gun tub, as the ship pitched and rolled. I later learned from survivors that crews attempting to defend the ship with a .50 caliber machine gun were killed at that station. In order to evacuate as many as we could, we left one of our crewman on the Liberty and even then we barely had enough power to lift off and return to the America.
We lifted off the next morning and arrived over the Liberty in a little over an hour. The damage was horrific. We were unable to land on any part of the ship. The devastation was total and complete-the ship’s bridge had been severely damaged, hundreds of holes (later counted at 183) were seen throughout the superstructure. We hovered over the ship’s bow and began bringing up wounded sailors via the hoist. As the operation progressed I took in the aftermath of the attack more fully. I was shocked to see what appeared to be blood, sloshing back and forth in the ship’s forward gun tub, as the ship pitched and rolled. I later learned from survivors that crews attempting to defend the ship with a .50 caliber machine gun were killed at that station. In order to evacuate as many as we could, we left one of our crewman on the Liberty and even then we barely had enough power to lift off and return to the America.
The toll for the United States and its navy that day was 34 dead and 171 wounded. For the rest of the day, our pilots and crews ferried wounded to medical facilities and the dead to a morgue, both aboard the USS America. It was an experience I will never forget…
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