Six Day War

On 13 May 1967, Egypt reinforced its forces in the Sinai border and Israel mobilized in response. Following several weeks of growing tension, the war commenced on 5 June. The fleet was initially held back to indicate American noninvolvement in the fighting. On 6 June, two carrier task forces moved closer to the fighting. On 10 June, the President ordered a high-speed carrier movement toward Syria to facilitate a cease-fire agreement.

On 08 June 1967 Israel attacked the American intelligence-gathering ship USS Liberty, killing 34 and wounding 171 others. The US 6th Fleet twice launched jets to aid the Liberty but they never appeared at the site of the ship. The ship was in international waters the entire time, and had done nothing to provoke any incident. Israel quickly apologized for the tragedy. The US State Department accepted the apology but not Israel's explanation of faulty identification and inadequate ship markings.