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July 14, 2001Navy exonerates captain of the USS IndianapolisLocal author Doug Stanton hopes book 'In Harm's Way' gave recognition to situationFrom staff and wire reportsTRAVERSE CITY - Doug Stanton, the Lake Ann author of the best-selling book chronicling the worst sea disaster in U.S. naval history, says he is surprised by the Navy's decision to exonerate the late captain of the USS Indianapolis. Capt. Charles Butler McVay III, who was court-martialed decades ago for failing to evade the Japanese submarine that sank the Indianapolis, committed suicide 33 years ago. His son, Kimo Wilder McVay, fought for years to clear his father's record. The younger McVay died two weeks ago. A directive from Navy Secretary Gordon England orders a document exonerating the elder McVay to be placed in his file, Cmdr. Greg Smith, director of the Navy's media operations in Washington, said Thursday. "This comes as a complete surprise to all the survivors and me, though I think there was always the hope that it would happen," said Stanton, who spent 18 months interviewing dozens of survivors and researching Navy documents and trial records for his book, "In Harm's Way." "It's the right thing to do and should have been done." The order follows a congressional resolution signed into law last fall by President Clinton that changes McVay's record to show he is exonerated and to award the ship and crew a Navy Unit Commendation. The Navy had refused to lift the conviction from McVay's record, saying he got a fair trial. "I do get some personal satisfaction from this," Stanton said. "I do feel a satisfaction and I'm shocked that it happened so quickly. A whole bunch of people have been pushing for this." Survivors were grateful for the news. "I was overjoyed," Indianapolis survivor Giles McCoy said Thursday. "I tell you, I've been working on trying to get him exonerated since 1964. "He was not guilty of anything except the fortune or misfortune of war," he added. The heavy cruiser sank after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in July 1945, near the close of World War II. The ship had just delivered atomic bomb parts at the island of Tinian, where the Enola Gay would later take off for its run over Hiroshima. Only 315 of the 1,196 men aboard survived the attack and subsequent five-day ordeal adrift at sea, making for the worst sea disaster in U.S. naval history. Many died from dehydration, drowning or shark attacks. The ship's radio was knocked out and the sinking went unnoticed for four days and five nights. McVay was convicted in February 1946 of "suffering a vessel to be hazarded through negligence," but he remained on active duty until his mandatory retirement in June 1949. He used his Navy pistol to commit suicide in November 1968 at his Litchfield, Conn., home. McCoy, 76, of Palm Coast, Fla., said he first broached the idea of an exoneration to McVay at the survivors' first reunion in Indianapolis in 1960 but the captain told him not to pursue it. McVay gave the go-ahead four years later but said he doubted the Navy would agree. The Navy's decision makes for a fitting postscript for "In Harm's Way," which has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for 14 weeks. "One of my hopes for the book," Stanton said, "was to reach out and grab people and make them care for the guys of the Indianapolis and their captain after 56 years." Stanton will appear on NBC's Today Show July 30, and on the History Channel on July 29, which is the anniversary of the sinking of the Indianapolis. On the Net: Survivors' organization: http://www.ussindianapolis.org |