Article

2023-06-28 -Lurid Crime Tales-

How a WWII Japanese sub commander helped exonerate a U.S. Navy captain

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-28 08:48|| || Front Page|| [10 views ] Top

#1 I see finding scapegoats to protect the higher-ups is a time-honored tradition.

Shame on the USN.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-28 08:55|| 2023-06-28 08:55|| Front Page Top

#2 "The job of the committee is to protect the committee..."

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-06-28 09:14|| 2023-06-28 09:14|| Front Page Top

#3 ...The impression I've gotten from several books on the subject (and this is IMHO, YMMV of course) is that CAPT McVey probably would have (for lack of a better term) walked away from the loss of Indianapolis - there was enough ambiguity in his orders to cause doubt as to his culpability, and more than enough command and control failures to hold higher authority far more responsible.

On the other hand, there were a great many Indianapolis families who found out about their losses on VJ Day - I cannot imagine the sheer horror of getting up that morning believing that they were safe and they'd made it...only to find out that they weren't. Many of these families, once some of the details leaked out - and they did - went straight to their Congressmen and Senators demanding to know why McVey wasn't being held responsible.

There was also the matter of FADM Ernest King, Chief Of Naval Operations, who famously never met a grudge he couldn't hold. He had been disciplined many years before by CAPT McVey's father, and although there's no paperwork proving it conclusively, FADM King almost violently - even for him - shot down every suggestion that McVey be shown leniency. One can make an argument that embarassment and anger over the circumstances figured in as well, but there never seemed to be any doubt among King's staff that his treatment by McVey's father figured into this.

Mike

Posted by MikeKozlowski 2023-06-28 10:27|| 2023-06-28 10:27|| Front Page Top

#4 "The longest wait of my life, waitin' for my turn, ya know. I'll never go into the water in a life jacket again."

- Quint, Jaws

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-06-28 10:32|| 2023-06-28 10:32|| Front Page Top

#5 Interesting comments, Mike, thanks!

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-06-28 13:27|| 2023-06-28 13:27|| Front Page Top

#6 Virtue signaling?

Posted by Skidmark 2023-06-28 19:36|| 2023-06-28 19:36|| Front Page Top

23:48 Sheba Thease8880
23:36 Enver Slager8035
23:26 Enver Slager8035
23:25 Enver Slager8035
23:22 Enver Slager8035
22:50 Woodrow
22:34 M. Murcek
22:27 KBK
21:40 M. Murcek
21:32 magpie
20:59 M. Murcek
20:42 Super Hose
20:39 Super Hose
20:38 Skidmark
20:35 Skidmark
20:29 SteveS
20:21 Anomalous Sources
20:18 magpie
20:15 DooDahMan
20:12 DooDahMan
19:51 Anomalous Sources
19:49 Skidmark
19:43 Skidmark
19:39 Skidmark