NORFOLK, Va. — It goes down as one of the darkest days in U.S. Navy history.
Fifty-seven years ago this week — for reasons still not completely understood — Israel attacked the unarmed noncombatant American technical research ship USS Liberty.
Yet, it's become a forgotten chapter in Naval lore.
On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, without warning Israeli jets and torpedo boats launched an attack on the Liberty, killing 34 crew members and wounding 171 others.
Both the Israeli and U.S. governments later conducted inquiries and issued reports concluding the attack was a mistake.
"This was not an accident," said former Liberty sailor Terry McFarland. "And the government's wanting for all of us to pass on, so they don't have to deal with the USS Liberty and the Liberty Veterans Association anymore and they can just bury it. Never to see the light of day."
McFarland and fellow Liberty veteran Jim Smith hope to begin setting the record straight this weekend when the USS Liberty Veterans Association dedicates a monument at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4809 in Norfolk.
Smith hopes the public can come out and learn.
"They haven't learned much in 57 years, so the hope is always there that maybe they will learn, they can learn. And we can teach them," he said.
The ceremony is at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Despite the continuing questions, the Naval History and Heritage Command notes on its website, that "the heroism of the crew in saving their ship and many shipmates has never been contested."