Uss indianapolis captain cleared. At the pentagon he worked tirelessly on the survivors behalf. Having extensively studied the navys position toti found their treatment of the captain offensive. On july 16 1945 the heavy cruiser indianapolis departed the california coast for the pacific island of tinian.
Around the same time captain william j. Rear admiral charles butler mcvay iii july 30 1898 november 6 1968 was the commanding officer of the uss indianapolis ca 35 when it was lost in action in 1945 resulting in massive loss of life. Navy court martialed for negligence resulting in the loss of his ship during wartime.
Uss indianapolis skipper cleared. He was the only commanding officer of a warship in the history of the us. Toti usn final commanding officer of the fast attack nuclear submarine uss indianapolis ssn 697 received an appeal from several indy survivors to assist with the exoneration effort.
Brown uss indianapolis survivor. Instead hunter scott spent the better part of his early teenage years working to right a wrong committed against the captain of the uss indianapolis. We have waited over fifty years to get our captain mcvays good name cleared from statement submitted at september 1999 senate hearing by edward j.
The navy has exonerated the late captain of the uss indianapolis decades after he was court martialed for failing to evade the. Fifty six years after the sinking of the cruiser indianapolis in one of the most horrific events in american naval history the ships captain has won a measure of vindication. He also helped the crew members get the recognition they so rightly deserved and to clear the name of their captain charles mcvay the commander of the indianapolis who was court martialed by the.
Only hours before the indianapolis began her high speed journey the first successful atomic detonation had ushered in the nuclear age. Of all captains in the history of the united states navy he is the only one to have been subjected to court martial for losing a ship sunk by an act of war despite the fact that he was on a top secret mission maintaining radio silence. On board was a heavily guarded top secret cargo destined to end the war.
Also outraged was us.