William Loren McGonagle (November 19, 1925 – March 3, 1999) was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions while in command of the USS Liberty when it was attacked by Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.

During the Korean War he served on the minesweeper USS Kite during the extensive operations that earned him and the other members of the crew a Presidential Unit Citation.

On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War between Israel and her Arab neighbors, the Liberty was attacked by Israeli forces while sailing in international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean.

McGonagle was severely wounded during the first air attack and although the bridge had sustained heavy damage he stayed and directed the defense of the ship, refusing to leave his post for medical attention.

[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members including naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and a civilian, wounded 171, and severely damaged the ship.

On the 30th anniversary of the attack (in 1997), during a reunion held at Arlington National Cemetery, he finally called for an investigation and denounced Israel’s mistaken identity claim: “I think it’s about time that the state of Israel and the United States government provide the crew members of the Liberty and the rest of the American people the facts of what happened, and why…the Liberty was attacked 30 years ago today.

It was, on the other hand, gross incompetence and aggravated dereliction of duty on the part of many officers and men of the state of Israel.”[7][5][8][9] On March 3, 1999, he died in Palm Springs, California, and, following services at the Post Chapel at Fort Myer, Virginia, he was buried with full military honors on April 9, 1999, at Arlington National Cemetery with members of his USS Liberty crew in attendance.

Sailing in international waters, the Liberty was attacked without warning by jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats which inflicted many casualties among the crew and caused extreme damage to the ship.

Captain McGonagle's extraordinary valor under these conditions inspired the surviving members of the Liberty's crew, many of them seriously wounded, to heroic efforts to overcome the battle damage and keep the ship afloat.

Subsequent to the attack, although in great pain and weak from the loss of blood, Captain McGonagle remained at his battle station and continued to command his ship for more than seventeen hours.