Charles B. McVay III
Controversy
McVay was wounded but survived, and was among those rescued. He repeatedly asked the Navy why it took four days to rescue his men but never received an answer. The Navy long claimed that SOS messages were never received because the ship was operating under a policy of radio silence; declassified records show that three SOS messages were received separately. None were acted upon because one commander was drunk, another thought it was a Japanese ruse, and the third had given orders not to be disturbed.
Charles B. McVay III
Charles Butler McVay III (August 31, 1898 – November 6, 1968) was an American naval officer and the commanding officer of the cruiser USS Indianapolis) which was lost in action in 1945, resulting in a significant loss of life. Of all captains in the history of the United States Navy, he is the only one 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.
Charles B. McVay III
The testimony of Mochitsura Hashimoto, the Japanese commander who sank his ship, also seemed to exonerate him. After years of mental health problems, McVay died by suicide at 70 years old. Following years of efforts by some survivors and others to clear his name, he was posthumously exonerated by the 106th United States Congress and President Bill Clinton on October 30, 2000.
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