MASSIEFLIX

Massie Floor Speech on the Anniversary of the USS Liberty Attack

Jun 8, 2026 · 5:44 israeluss-libertyfloor-speechmilitary

On the 59th anniversary of Israel's attack on the USS Liberty, Massie honors survivors in the gallery, recounts the napalm and torpedo assault that killed 34 Americans, and cites U.S. officials who say it was intentional — not mistaken identity.

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 59 years overdue
  2. 0:48 Clear day, unarmed ship
  3. 1:36 Jets, napalm, torpedoes
  4. 2:38 Machine-gunned lifeboats
  5. 3:08 Planes recalled for 17 hours
  6. 4:08 Not mistaken identity

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  1. We now recognize the gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Massie, for 5 minutes. >> I request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and to introduce
  2. other material into the record. >> Without objection. >> Mr. Speaker, it's my great honor, maybe one of the biggest honors of my lifetime, to stand
  3. here on the floor and do something that's 59 years overdue, to recognize the survivors and those who gave their lives of the on the USS Liberty
  4. 59 years ago today, when they were viciously attacked by IDF jets and also after that by torpedo boats.
  5. I'm going to tell you a little bit of their story. And they're By the way, there's at least a dozen of them here today with us. I just met with them in my office and
  6. they related the story to me. You know, uh it was a clear day. The USS Liberty was one of the most technologically sophisticated ships in
  7. the Navy, but it was virtually unarmed and it was sent to observe the Six-Day War going on in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors.
  8. It arrived on June 7th and the weather was clear. The uh planes came out to meet them, to
  9. investigate, and then on the next day, on June 8th, they started the day, the visibility was unlimited, the American flag was flying
  10. proudly on the USS Liberty, more planes came from Israel to surveil the boat the ship. And they thought they were in good
  11. shape, but what happened next surprised them all. French Mirage jets showed up and for 25 minutes strafed and attacked
  12. the USS Liberty. They shot rockets. They shot 30-mm cannons into the hull and into the ship.
  13. They even dropped napalm on the bridge of the ship. This was an effort to kill everybody on board. There was no intention of taking
  14. prisoners. After the 25 grueling minutes of attack on this virtually unarmed ship, and they thought
  15. things were over and they could recover, the torpedo boat showed up. Three torpedo boats. They launched four torpedoes.
  16. One of them hit the hull of the USS Liberty and killed 25 people instantly. It blew a 40-ft by 40-ft hole in the
  17. side of this ship. They were intent on sinking it, but they were also intent on not having a single survivor. According to eyewitness accounts,
  18. the Israelis machine-gunned the lifeboats that they put down. They machine-gunned the firefighters who were on the deck.
  19. They were bringing the wounded and the dead to the mess hall to triage them. They had one doctor who was trying to help them all, put a few stitches in.
  20. It was harrowing. And it's amazing. The If not for that crew, they would that boat would have sunk that day. But, it still wasn't
  21. over. Helicopters showed up, combat helicopters. And the USS Liberty, even though their signals were being jammed by the
  22. Israelis, got a signal out. And there were ships that tried to respond. The USS Saratoga, the USS America, sent
  23. planes. Both of them sent planes to help the USS Liberty. And something happened that's never happened before. A ship under attack, the planes were recalled.
  24. This has never happened before. And they sat there for 17 hours. 34 dead,
  25. 174 wounded out of 294 crew members. That's over 70% casualty rate, unheard of. The Israelis were
  26. intent on leaving no survivor. And what about our own military? Why did they not send anybody for 17 hours to
  27. help these men? So, what really happened? You know, the official reports say that it was a case of mistaken
  28. identity. But, if you listen to Dean Rusk, former Secretary of State, Richard Helms, CIA director, Bobby Ray Inman, head of the
  29. NSA, Captain Ward Boston, who was the chief counsel of the court of inquiry, if you listen
  30. to Admiral Moore, who served in Pearl Harbor, Midway, commanded both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet, and was chairman of the Joint
  31. Chiefs of Staff, none of these distinguished men think this was an accident. They think it was intentional murder by the country of Israel, either
  32. as a false flag operation, or because they simply didn't want anybody observing what they were doing that day.
  33. Well, I've got a call to action for everybody here. Honor these individuals. Quit ignoring that they exist. Go to their
  34. website, ussliberty.org. Support them. And while they're still alive, they need closure. Let's give them closure. Let's have an investigation. Let's pass a resolution
  35. honoring them. It's long overdue. And then, they can have their justice. With that, I yield back, and I ask
  36. unanimous consent to enter into the record a declaration of Ward Boston declaring that the only official court of inquiry was
  37. invalid. >> Without objection, so ordered. >> I yield back. >> yields back. The chair now recognizes >> [applause]