American Notes Military

Ever since a gun turret exploded aboard the battleship Iowa in 1989, killing 47 sailors, the Navy has sought the cause of the blast. The two-year probe, however, has been inconclusive. Last week Admiral Frank Kelso, Chief of Naval Operations, admitted that "despite all efforts, no certain answer regarding the cause of this terrible tragedy can be found." The Navy also apologized to the family of Clayton Hartwig, one of the sailors who perished. An initial criminal investigation had suggested, without strong corroborating evidence, that Hartwig had committed suicide by setting off the explosives because he had been upset over a failed homosexual relationship.

It will probably never be known why bags of ammunition designed for the ship's 16-in. guns ignited during loading, creating the inferno in which the men died. And despite Kelso's expression of regret that Hartwig was blamed for the incident "without clear and convincing proof," his family is not dropping a $40 million lawsuit against the Navy for soiling the dead man's name.