Clay Twp. vet recalls 'harrowing night' on USS Liberty 50 years later

Jackie Smith | Times Herald

Fifty years ago, Jack Beattie watched unknown pilots flying overhead while he was aboard the USS Liberty in the Mediterranean Sea.

They were close enough to wave to, but they didn’t wave back.

Beattie questioned what was happening then. Five decades later, on the anniversary of the attack on his spy ship, he’s still seeking answers.

Beattie, 69 of Clay Township, easily recounts the June 8, 1967, attack that took the lives of 34 men on Liberty and wounded 170 more. It's a story he wants Americans to hear and remember 50 years later.

The unprovoked attack by Israeli forces on the ship came during what is now known as the Six-Day War, a clash between Israel and several Arab nations. The U.S. stayed neutral during the conflict.

Beattie said survivors who’ve sought an investigation into the 1967 attack have often received some pushback — that it was anti-Semitic or derogatory of an American ally. On Monday, he said they just want answers.

Local vet initially kept mum about USS Liberty attack Clay Township Jack Beattie served on the USS Liberty, which was attacked by Israeli forces 50 years ago Thursday. He remembers keeping quiet of the events early on but has made an effort to share his experience since.

Still, he added it’s “humbling” to be in a position to share the experience. “It should’ve been done years ago, but it was not,” he said. “We’ve been pushing this for the last 20 years, I’d say.”

The day of the attack started with aircraft circling overhead. In the hours before the attack, Beattie said they had felt safe onboard, thinking it was clear to whomever they were the Liberty was an American ship and not involved in the conflict.

“You could actually wave to the pilots. They never waved back. I (saw) for myself,” he said. “One time I was on the main deck, and the Israeli transport plane flew over us and went around the ship several times and took off. We were monitored many times. So they knew who we were. The USS Liberty (showed it was the) AGTR-5 — on the bow, port and starboard side, in 5-foot letters. On the back of the ship said (it was) the Liberty, and an American flag (flew).”

Beattie was in a whaleboat hanging on the side of the ship, helping enginemen, when he saw sailors on the bridge looking at oncoming aircraft moments before rockets hit that day.

Once the rockets hit, he said, they were shocked, and jets “came back and forth” for about 40 minutes.

“They said, ‘Stand by for torpedo attacks, starboard side.’ I’m thinking, ‘Torpedos? We’re not even at war. What’s going on?’ And I’m looking at the wall there, and I (knew) that’s the starboard side,” he said. “So I get on the phone; I said, ‘Request permission to leave …’ and they said, ‘Wait one,’ which is hold on. I’m thinking, ‘How much longer are we going to hold on?’ So I have the phone on, and I’m going up the ladder. I’d just opened the hatch and was just getting out when the torpedo hit, and all the kids collapsed. There was smoke. It threw me around like a rag doll. And the ship just started rolling over.”

The frenzy continued as crews made their way on deck, Beattie said, where they “just hunkered down” until the “machine-gunning of the ship” was over. He said he’d been “banged around” but never sought medical treatment.

Beattie called it “a harrowing night” that left them to sleep in their life jackets for several nights on a ship that ultimately never sank.

In the half-century since the attack, he’s made it almost his mission to share his story.

“We didn’t know it was Israel right away. Nobody knew,” Beattie said Monday in his home. “John Scott, he was a (damage control) officer with us, down on the deck. (We asked), ‘Mr. Scott, who’s shooting?’ and he said, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know who’s shooting at us.’ We thought it had to be Egypt. Then we found out.”

Beattie, age 19 at the time, said they’d been told not to talk about it and largely kept quiet after the attack — something he said probably changed after about 15 years.

Israel would go on to apologize for the attack, citing an error in mistaking the Liberty for an Egyptian ship. However, Beattie said he’s among the survivors who believe there’s a bigger story there.

“When you tell the truth of what happened to you personally, it comes out the same every time,” said the veteran, whose naval service ended in 1991.

The Liberty was an American technical research ship or a “spy ship.” Beattie had been on board two years and was an E-3 fireman, working in the ship’s machine shop.

In May, Beattie joined the other Vietnam-era veterans who received a special label pin honoring his service from state officials. Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, and Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall shared the honors with Beattie, and Pavlov said 1,000 received the recognition in the capital last year.

“Jack was one of the people that reached out,” Pavlov said. “It was very nice. He’s got a heck of a story if you haven’t talked to him about it yet. It’s unique.”

On Tuesday, Beattie was to leave for Washington, D.C., for events and recognition more specific to those who served on the Liberty. That was to include a visit to Arlington National Cemetery to recognize veterans and those killed in the attack and a reunion in Norfolk.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.