USS Indianapolis

The News-Gazette reports an excerpt from the Congressional Record about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the subsequent court-martial of the commanding officer for the loss of his ship. The ship was sunk on 30 July 1945. The ultimate

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.–(1) It is the sense of Congress, on the basis of the facts presented in a public hearing conducted by the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate on September 14, 1999, including evidence not available at the time of Captain Charles Butler McVay’s court-martial, and on the basis of extensive interviews and questioning of witnesses and knowledgeable officials and a review of the record of the court-martial for and in that hearing, that– (A) recognizing that the Secretary of the Navy remitted the sentence of the court-martial and that Admiral Nimitz, as Chief of Naval Operations, restored Captain McVay to active duty, the American people should now recognize Captain McVay’s lack of culpability for the tragic loss of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the lives of the men who died as a result of her sinking; and (B) knowing that vital information was not available to the court-martial board and that, as a result, Captain McVay was convicted, Captain McVay’s military record should now reflect that he is exonerated for the loss of the ship and its crew. (2) It is, further, the sense of Congress that Congress strongly encourages the Secretary of the Navy to award a Navy Unit Commendation to the U.S.S. Indianapolis and its final crew.

The paper has a number of other articles including a timeline of events as we near the 65th anniversary of the sinking, as well as this background.

The Library of Congress has a number of resources for further reading on this subject.