The United States Navy lost many ships during World War II, but Navy brass never reacted so badly to the loss of a ship as they did to the loss of the Indianapolis which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine near the end of the war. Despite the fact that the Navy leadership itself made mistakes during the rescue operation that cost the lives of almost six hundred men, the Navy held the captain of the Indianapolis personally responsible for the loss of the Indianapolis and he was court marshaled.
Charles B. McVay III was the captain of the USS Indianapolis when it was sank by the Japanese on June 30, 1945. He was one of the 317 survivors out of the original 1,197 man crew. The Navy held him personally responsible for the loss of the ship because they claimed he had "suffered a vessel to be hazarded through negligence" by not performing zig-zag maneuvers in enemy waters. Instead, he had set a straight, fast course. Although later documents later proved that he had been told to use his discretion when plotting a course and that Navy had neglected to tell McVay that he was passing through an area of increased likelihood of running into a Japanese submarine, this evidence was not presented at his court marshall and he was convicted.
McVay was not removed from service, but was demoted 100 spaces down the seniority list. Soon, his seniority was restored and he retired in 1949 with the rank of rear admiral. His name was still sullied, however, and he committed suicide in 1968, still carrying the shame of having been convicted of being responsible for the deaths of over 800 of his men. That shame is probably what led him to an early retirement and to shoot himself with his Navy revolver. According to his family, he never got over the loss of the Indianapolis. Though there is little he could have done, he felt shamed by being so singled out by the Navy for punishment.
Despite the uncovering of new evidence in support of McVay and constant lobbying by his sons and some of his former crewmen, McVay's name was not cleared until 2001. This came about when a school project done by a seventh grader in 1997 received national attention and inspired many to take another look at the case. The next year, Representative Julia Carson sponsored legislation that would posthumously exonerate McVay of any wrongdoing. Because the Navy were against the bill, however, it was initially defeated. It did not pass until 2001 when it was included in a defense spending bill. The following year, the Secretary of the Navy officially cleared McVay's name.
