NORFOLK, Va. — This weekend, veterans gathered in Norfolk to mark a somber anniversary — 58 years since the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli forces, killing 34 American sailors.
The Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) is hosting its annual reunion in Norfolk, with events at the Sheraton Hotel in the Waterside District and at VFW Post 4809, where a memorial ceremony was held Saturday.
A monument outside the VFW post features 34 roses, one for each sailor who died in the 1967 attack.
As part of the event, the LVA honored the victims and remembered the survivors. But this year’s gathering drew controversy over some of its invited speakers.
Stew Peters and Matt Wakulik — who have shared antisemitic content online and referenced the USS Liberty in some of their social media posts — were invited to speak. On Friday, the LVA’s executive director told WTKR the organization was unaware of the speakers' backgrounds at the time of the invitations and admitted they had not been vetted.
Stew Peters was ultimately banned from speaking at both the Sheraton and the VFW post. He told News 3 he decided not to attend the event. Wakulik, however, posted a video of the memorial ceremony on his social media accounts, though the LVA denies he was present.
Law enforcement was added to both the hotel and VFW venues due to concerns of potential violence. As of this report, there have been no incidents or reports of violence.
LVA's executive director Moe Shafer told News this has never happened before—where speakers were banned—and there won't be a renuion in 2026.
We had no idea that there's such haters. So we've got a group that went against us to threaten terrorism, threatened my life…," Shafer told Norfolk Neighborhood News Reporter Jay Greene. "...We've had a lot of reunions, and we've never had any incident like this in our history. It's unbelievable to have interference from outside and all this hate,” he said.
He added that the association's criticism is aimed solely at the Israeli Defense Force and not the Jewish community as a whole.
According to the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, there is no evidence that the 1967 attack was deliberate. However, the Liberty Veterans Association and others continue to believe it was intentional.
