I'm currently reading "In Harms Way". It's the account of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Pisses me off. Captain Charles McVay III was set up for failure then crucified.
My son met some of those old guys and was invited to one of their reunions. It was to honor them that I picked my handle. Serving US Navy officers were not welcome. The granddaughter of the Japanese sub's commander was an honored guest (she lives in Chicago now).
Captain McVay got scapegoated because, they claimed, he hadn't zig zagged to avoid torpedoes. The Japanese sub commander went to Washington to testify that it would not have mattered if he had zig zagged. Couldn't blame the higher brass for ignoring when the Indy was overdue, could they?
A few years later McVay committed suicide. He was a hero in my opinion.
He was only exonerated, posthumously, after a high school kid used the Indy as a history project and wouldn't let it drop.
