History Channel

[fiver]

that's why I bought an electric chain saw.
it's like having cheeto fingers.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I stopped paying for satellite TV years ago and don't miss it at ALL. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Broadcast (over the air) TV is FREE ! What little broadcast TV I watch I get over the air. A $19.00 Yagi antenna from Amazon pulls in more than a dozen stations and everything else is streamed over the internet.

Network Television is mostly mind rotting liberal indoctrination, bread & circus entertainment for the masses and commercial junk. I can happily do without it.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Recently I watched an excellent program on History channel, It was a discussion with two authors of a book called "Indianapolis The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man". Before the program had ended I had ordered it on audio book format. To say I could not put it down is an understatement, without doubt the most interesting book I have ever listened to. The amount of detail these two women, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic, through interviews with survivors or families of survivors, historical records, naval archives etc. to finally put to print was just amazing. Every aspect of the ship and crew, before, during and after the sinking was explored and thoroughly explained. I can't say enough about it, it's just that good. I recommend it everyone.

If you want to read an excellent book on the U.S.S. Indianapolis, I can highly recommend the book - "Abandon Ship, The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster" written by Richard F. Newcomb. ISBN 0-06-018471-X
It is an outstanding book.

By the way, if you're ever in Portland, Maine, the mast of the U.S.S Portland in on the Eastern promenade (a beautiful view !) . There were only two Portland class heavy cruisers, the Indianapolis and the Portland. The Indianapolis is on the bottom of the Philippine Sea, about 18,000 below the surface and the other one was scrapped with only the mast remaining on display on in Portland, Maine.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The Captain of the Indianapolis was just a scapegoat.

/\ Yes /\

The ONLY U.S. Navy Captain to be court martialed for the loss of his ship in WWII due to enemy action. He later committed suicide.
And the commanding officer of the Japanese submarine, Lt. Commander Hashimoto, testified that the lack of maneuvering by the Indianapolis was not a factor in his ability to sink the ship. The sub commander testified that there was nothing the captain of the Indianapolis could have done to avoid being struck by the torpedo's fired from his submarine.
In addition to his testimony at Captain McVey's court martial, Hashimoto later wrote to the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee in 1999. He wrote, in part, " ....that even if the Indianapolis had been zigzagging, there would have been no difference: "I would have been able to launch a successful torpedo attack against his ship whether it had been zigzagging or not. "


Contrary to popular belief, the radio operator of the Indianapolis WAS able to send out a distress signal before the ship sank and that signal was received by U.S. forces. That signal was disregarded by at least one U.S. Navy officer and probably by more than one receiving station. The U.S. Navy, embarrassed by their complete failure to launch a timely rescue of the survivors, shifted the blame to Captain McVey.

 

[Rick]

Exactly how I have always understood it.

 

[Rick H]

The same navy that made the decision to abandon the survivors of the Battle of Samar. Where the navy intentionally abandoned the survivors of the sunk destroyers, DE's and escort carriers of Taffy 3.

The Battle off Samar: The Sacrifice of "Taffy 3"

Overview On 15 October 1944, the Japanese Imperial Navy’s First Mobile Fleet launched Operation Shō, a last-ditch attempt to engage Allied naval forces off Leyte in the central Philippines decisively. Following the 24 October Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the powerful Japanese First Diversion...

www.history.navy.mil

"Partly as a result of disastrous communication errors within 7th Fleet and a reluctance to expose search ships to submarine attack, a very large number of survivors from Taffy 3, including those from Gambier Bay, Hoel, Johnston, and Roberts, were not rescued until October 27, after two days adrift."
Date: October 25, 1944

 

[RBHarter]

Look up Drain the Oceans via Nat Geo . There is a segment , 12 minutes or so , of location photography , digital mapping etc on the Indianapolis . As alleged the port holes and bulkhead doors were open . They touch briefly on the Court Martials , pardon , and suicide of the captain also . Intel said they should have been in clear waters . Of course that from 12 minutes so , grain of salt .

 

[dannyd]

/\ Yes /\

The ONLY U.S. Navy Captain to be court martialed for the loss of his ship in WWII due to enemy action. He later committed suicide.
And the commanding officer of the Japanese submarine, Lt. Commander Hashimoto, testified that the lack of maneuvering by the Indianapolis was not a factor in his ability to sink the ship. The sub commander testified that there was nothing the captain of the Indianapolis could have done to avoid being struck by the torpedo's fired from his submarine.
In addition to his testimony at Captain McVey's court martial, Hashimoto later wrote to the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee in 1999. He wrote, in part, " ....that even if the Indianapolis had been zigzagging, there would have been no difference: "I would have been able to launch a successful torpedo attack against his ship whether it had been zigzagging or not. "


Contrary to popular belief, the radio operator of the Indianapolis WAS able to send out a distress signal before the ship sank and that signal was received by U.S. forces. That signal was disregarded by at least one U.S. Navy officer and probably by more than one receiving station. The U.S. Navy, embarrassed by their complete failure to launch a timely rescue of the survivors, shifted the blame to Captain McVey.

I worked for the Navy, their biggest fault was never admitting when they made mistakes. First rule always find a Scapegoat.

 

[DHD]

Off topic but I love to read about the Pacific threater of WWII and the deaper I go, the more you can find incompetent Admirals, Generals, Captains, and Colonels hiding not too far below the surface. Lots of mistakes were made but those brave men still did something I don't believe could be done today. Without trying to get overly political, the blanking blank politicians then were some dirty sob's like they are today....

The History Channel is like schools today, they show what they want you to see. I loved it in the beginning but now it's not history, it's something else I don't recognize.

 

[RicinYakima]

It is called "Revisionist History". Every person in the military is just a human, regardless of rank or position. They have to make decisions on partial information that may be true or not true. Now historians look back with lots of information and judge people on what they should have done, thru modern eyes and morals. Nuking of Japan was one of the best decisions of WW2, now called a war crime.

 

[DHD]

You are correct on the Revisionist History and hindsight.

It's a sad side note that McVey had to be the scapegoat.

 

[popper]

Sea battles are not fun.

 

[DHD]

Sea battles are not fun.

I'm not prior Navy, but I wouldn't think so (even a little bit).

 

[dannyd]

It is called "Revisionist History". Every person in the military is just a human, regardless of rank or position. They have to make decisions on partial information that may be true or not true. Now historians look back with lots of information and judge people on what they should have done, thru modern eyes and morals. Nuking of Japan was one of the best decisions of WW2, now called a war crime.

It not all " Revisionist History" baby boomers were raised on "We won History" and it has came back to bite us in the Butt many times.

 

[dannyd]

I'm not prior Navy, but I wouldn't think so (even a little bit).

I am Navy (over 7300 days) and never been a in combat battle on the ship, but fires sucks no matter who started them. From 1945 we have also managed to kill almost as many of our own as the enemy has.

 

[popper]

No place to hide, fire is bad. I slept between two Sam magazines of 40 tons HE each. Carriers were worse with all the jp and ammo.

 

[RBHarter]

On August 7 of each year the city of Nagasaki has a day of rememberence with the survivors and their children as significant guests at a huge memorial park in the city . It's not about the surrender or the war or even the bomb . They simply remember the day in full context ........also 12 minutes of Nat Geo Discovering Japan (?) It was linked by volcanoes to Survivors of St Helens some way or another .......

Drain the Oceans WWII was good also . The Hood , Bismark , I want to say U35 and the Robert E Lee . I think it was a whole season and not a bad way to waste a sweltering Wednesday .

 

[dannyd]

No place to hide, fire is bad. I slept between two Sam magazines of 40 tons HE each. Carriers were worse with all the jp and ammo.

Rode everything between a Frigate and CV. Just like the 60's song " No where to run to and no where to Hide"

 

[RicinYakima]

My pistol coach was an ordinance specialist on the USS Forrestal in 1967, but survived the fire and firefighting efforts. As soon as his four years were up he joined the Marines as it was safer in his opinion.

 

[462]

My pistol coach was an ordinance specialist on the USS Forrestal in 1967, but survived the fire and firefighting efforts. As soon as his four years were up he joined the Marines as it was safer in his opinion.

Hmmm . . .
Was McCain guilty of a "wet start", that started the Forrestal's fire, and the aftermath report written to clear him and save the reputations of his father and grandfather, who were both admirals?

Or was it a nasty falsehood conjured up by a/some McCain bashers?