USNA CLASS OF 1953

6708 Pageland Lane

Gainesville, Virginia 20155

September 24, 2009

General James L. Jones, Jr., USMC

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear General Jones:

This past June Simon and Schuster published James Scott's definitive account “The Attack on the Liberty” subtitle, “The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship.”  It was reviewed in the Outlook Section of The Washington Post, Sunday, July 12, by John Lancaster who called the book a “...comprehensive and compelling account....”

We believe this well written, meticulously researched and fully documented account of the attack and the shameful political aftermath which both Admirals McDonald and Moorer confronted as this remarkable and brave crew were shunned because it was more important to the White House to protect relations with an ally than to support and defend American service members, will be on the reading list of a wide American audience.

My Academy classmates and I have a personal interest in the attack since the Executive Officer of Liberty, Philip Armstrong, Jr., who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously, was our classmate. Moreover, at our monthly luncheons at Fort McNair, we have had a range of speakers on the Liberty attack, including Dr. Anthony Wells who described the highly important intercept role of Liberty in 1967, indicating that the JCS and NSA were concerned about Soviet intentions, as is further indicated by the fact that during preparation for the mission in Rota, Marine Staff Sergeant Bryce Lockwood, a Russian linguist, came aboard for temporary duty along with five Arabic linguists, but no Hebrew linguist.  Six days later Lockwood was trapped in the flooding NSA compartment resulting from an Israeli torpedo blast which left a hole 39 feet wide and 24 feet high and threatened to sink the ship. Lockwood received a Silver Star Medal for his heroic action that day.

James Scott is an accomplished journalist whose father, John Scott, was a 24-year-old Ensign in Liberty and the damage control officer who led the heroic efforts by the crew which saved the ship from sinking.  Drawing on new interviews and recently declassified documents, Scott demonstrates that Israel’s mistaken identification claim is implausible. Notably, the Epilogue (pg 288) describes a personal apology to his father during a 2007 meeting in Israel with one of the Israeli pilots who had attacked the Liberty.

We trust that you and Admirals Mullen and Roughead, to whom we are also sending copies of “The Attack on the Liberty” will read it, and following in the direction of the late Admiral Thomas Moorer, will earnestly try to find a way to finally honor in truth and justice these men, "who did not give up the ship."

Very respectfully,

David B. Jones, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.)

President