From Kansas to Commissioned Officer
William Loren McGonagle was born on November 19, 1925, in Wichita, Kansas. He spent his early years in the Midwest before relocating to California, where he graduated from high school in the Coachella Valley. With World War II raging, McGonagle joined the U.S. Navy’s V-12 officer training program and attended the University of Southern California. This program, designed to accelerate the education and commissioning of naval officers, set him on the path to a long and distinguished career. In June 1947, McGonagle was officially commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
Over the following two decades, McGonagle worked his way up through the ranks, serving on several ships in a variety of roles. He served aboard the destroyer USS Frank Knox and later the minesweeper USS Partridge. During the Korean War, he served on USS Kite, earning a Presidential Unit Citation with the crew. His early assignments also included command positions aboard the fleet tug USS Mataco and the salvage ship USS Reclaimer. He taught Naval ROTC at the University of Idaho and earned a bachelor’s degree in education during this time. By 1966, with a reputation as a calm, capable officer, McGonagle was given command of the USS Liberty, a signals intelligence ship tasked with eavesdropping on electronic communications.
The Attack on the USS Liberty
On June 8, 1967, in the midst of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, USS Liberty was operating in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. The ship’s mission was intelligence gathering, but its presence in a hot zone would soon bring unexpected and deadly consequences. That afternoon, without warning, the ship was attacked by Israeli jet fighters, helicopters, and torpedo boats. Over a span of about 25 minutes, the Liberty was bombarded with rockets, machine gun fire, napalm, and a torpedo strike. The attack killed 34 American sailors and Marines and wounded 171 others—over two-thirds of the crew.
Captain McGonagle was severely wounded early in the assault when shrapnel tore through the bridge. Despite his injuries, he refused to relinquish command. For more than 17 hours following the attack, he remained at his post, directing the crew through firefighting, damage control, casualty evacuation, and navigation of the heavily damaged vessel. Even after a U.S. destroyer arrived to assist, McGonagle stayed on the bridge and only accepted medical treatment after ensuring that his wounded crew had been cared for first. His actions saved lives, stabilized the ship, and prevented what could have been an even greater disaster.
From Kansas to Commissioned Officer
William Loren McGonagle was born on November 19, 1925, in Wichita, Kansas. He spent his early years in the Midwest before relocating to California, where he graduated from high school in the Coachella Valley. With World War II raging, McGonagle joined the U.S. Navy’s V-12 officer training program and attended the University of Southern California. This program, designed to accelerate the education and commissioning of naval officers, set him on the path to a long and distinguished career. In June 1947, McGonagle was officially commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
Over the following two decades, McGonagle worked his way up through the ranks, serving on several ships in a variety of roles. He served aboard the destroyer USS Frank Knox and later the minesweeper USS Partridge. During the Korean War, he served on USS Kite, earning a Presidential Unit Citation with the crew. His early assignments also included command positions aboard the fleet tug USS Mataco and the salvage ship USS Reclaimer. He taught Naval ROTC at the University of Idaho and earned a bachelor’s degree in education during this time. By 1966, with a reputation as a calm, capable officer, McGonagle was given command of the USS Liberty, a signals intelligence ship tasked with eavesdropping on electronic communications.
The Attack on the USS Liberty
On June 8, 1967, in the midst of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, USS Liberty was operating in international waters off the Sinai Peninsula. The ship’s mission was intelligence gathering, but its presence in a hot zone would soon bring unexpected and deadly consequences. That afternoon, without warning, the ship was attacked by Israeli jet fighters, helicopters, and torpedo boats. Over a span of about 25 minutes, the Liberty was bombarded with rockets, machine gun fire, napalm, and a torpedo strike. The attack killed 34 American sailors and Marines and wounded 171 others—over two-thirds of the crew.
Captain McGonagle was severely wounded early in the assault when shrapnel tore through the bridge. Despite his injuries, he refused to relinquish command. For more than 17 hours following the attack, he remained at his post, directing the crew through firefighting, damage control, casualty evacuation, and navigation of the heavily damaged vessel. Even after a U.S. destroyer arrived to assist, McGonagle stayed on the bridge and only accepted medical treatment after ensuring that his wounded crew had been cared for first. His actions saved lives, stabilized the ship, and prevented what could have been an even greater disaster.
A Medal of Honor and an Unusual Ceremony
For his actions aboard the USS Liberty, Captain McGonagle was awarded the Medal of Honor—our nation’s highest military decoration. But the presentation of the award broke with tradition. Instead of the White House ceremony typically afforded to Medal of Honor recipients, McGonagle received the medal at the Washington Navy Yard on June 11, 1968. The award was presented not by the President, but by Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius. The low-profile ceremony and the U.S. government’s handling of the incident stirred controversy.
Many crew members believed the attack had been deliberately covered up to avoid diplomatic fallout with Israel. McGonagle remained silent for decades but later publicly criticized the official narrative during the 30th anniversary of the attack, calling out what he described as “gross incompetence and aggravated dereliction of duty” on the part of Israeli forces.
The Real Reason The Liberty was Attacked
The real reason behind the attack on the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, is still a hotly debated topic. The official story from both the U.S. and Israeli governments is that it was all a tragic case of mistaken identity. According to them, Israeli forces thought the Liberty was an Egyptian vessel—specifically the El Quseir—and acted in the fog of war, misreading the situation in the middle of the chaos of the Six-Day War. A series of communication failures and identification errors supposedly led to the deadly strike that left 34 Americans dead and more than 170 wounded. Between the two countries, there were over a dozen official investigations—three by Israel and eleven by the U.S.—all of which concluded that the attack was a mistake.
But that version of events has never sat right with many people—especially the survivors. Some U.S. military and intelligence officials, along with a handful of credible historians, have long argued that the attack wasn’t an accident at all. One theory is that Israel didn’t want the Liberty listening in on sensitive radio chatter about its plans to launch a major assault on Syria’s Golan Heights. That move could have violated a cease-fire agreement, and the last thing Israel wanted was for the U.S. to get wind of it. There are also claims that Israeli naval command actually knew the Liberty was an American ship well before the attack, but that information somehow never made it to the people pulling the trigger.
Admiral Shlomo Erell, who was the head of the Israeli Navy at the time, later pushed back hard on the idea that the attack was deliberate. He argued that no one’s ever presented a clear motive for why Israel would intentionally risk blowing up an American ship and alienating its strongest ally. He has a point—that would’ve been a hell of a gamble.
So where does that leave us? Officially, it was a tragic error, a result of confusion during wartime. But the skepticism hasn’t gone away—not by a long shot. Some of the crew, along with plenty of others, still believe there’s more to the story. And with no definitive proof to silence either side, the controversy lives on. More than fifty years later, the USS Liberty attack remains one of the most enduring—and bitterly contested—mysteries in U.S. military history.
Life After the Navy
Promoted to captain in October 1967, McGonagle continued to serve with distinction. He commanded the ammunition ship USS Kilauea, and later led the Naval ROTC unit at the University of Oklahoma. His final assignment was with the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group in the Philippines. After retiring from active duty in 1974, he largely kept a low public profile, though he maintained close ties with the surviving crew of the Liberty. In his final years, he became more vocal about the attack, pushing for broader public recognition and accountability.
Captain McGonagle died on March 3, 1999, in Palm Springs, California. He was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery, just yards away from several of his fallen Liberty crewmates. His Medal of Honor citation remains one of the most remarkable in Navy history, not only for its account of courage under fire but for the unusual political context that surrounded the incident.
A Legacy of Quiet Valor
The USS Liberty became the most decorated U.S. Navy ship for a single engagement, and its story continues to resonate within the intelligence and naval communities. Captain McGonagle’s steadfast leadership and refusal to abandon his crew in the face of overwhelming adversity exemplify the highest ideals of the naval service. His heroism was not wrapped in ceremony or spotlight—it was forged in blood, fire, and loyalty. His Medal of Honor serves as a lasting tribute to a man who put duty above self, and who, in the face of a brutal and controversial attack, never flinched.
COMMENTS
There are
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.