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A Glimpse of Hell (book)
Encyclopedia
A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-Up is a nonfiction book of investigative journalism
, written by Charles C. Thompson II and published in 1999. The book describes the USS Iowa turret explosion
that took place on April 19, 1989 and the subsequent investigations that tried to determine the cause. The explosion aboard the United States Navy
battleship
killed 47 of the turret's crewmen.
Soon after the explosion, Thompson was informed by an Iowa crewman that the Navy was conducting a dishonest investigation into the cause of the tragedy. Thompson, a producer for the television newsmagazine
60 Minutes
, later produced several television reports which disputed the Navy's conclusions as to what had caused the explosion.
Based on his work for the 60 Minutes reports plus further investigation on his own, Thompson wrote A Glimpse of Hell. The book was published by W. W. Norton & Company. Thompson's book was extremely critical of most of the Navy personnel involved in the investigation, concluding that the Navy had orchestrated a cover-up to conceal the true cause of the explosion.
Upon its publication, the book received favorable comments from book reviewers. Thompson later claimed that the Navy tried to suppress sales by banning the book from Navy exchange
stores on Navy bases throughout the world. In 2001, five Navy servicemen named in Thompson's book sued Thompson, the book's publisher, and one of Thompson's sources for libel, false light privacy, and conspiracy. The suit was settled out-of-court in 2007 for undisclosed terms.
battleship
USS Iowa
, under the command of Captain
Fred Moosally
, was 260 nautical miles (481.5 km) northeast of Puerto Rico
, steaming at 15 kn (18 mph; 29 km/h), and preparing to engage in a live-fire exercise with its 16-inch guns. At 09:53, as the ship's 16-inch Turret Two loaded and prepared to fire its three guns, a fireball between 2500 and 3000 °F (1400 and 1650 °C) and traveling at 2000 feet per second (609.6 m/s) with a pressure of 4000 pound per square inches (27.6 MPa) blew out from the turret's center gun's open breech. The fireball spread through all three of the turret's gun rooms and through much of the lower levels of the turret. All 47 crewmen inside the turret were killed.
Soon after the fires in the turret were extinguished, Vice Admiral
Joseph S. Donnell, commander of Surface Forces Atlantic, appointed Rear Admiral Richard Milligan to conduct an informal one-officer investigation into the explosion. Milligan boarded Iowa with his staff on April 20 and began his investigation by interviewing Iowa crewmembers. Milligan's investigation continued after Iowa returned to its home port of Norfolk on April 23.
Five days after the explosion, a gunner's mate
who worked in Iowa's Turret One called Charles Thompson and told him that Milligan was conducting a dishonest investigation. "The news media is the only thing that can keep the Navy honest" said the caller. Thompson, a producer for 60 Minutes
, was a former US Navy officer and naval gunfire spotter who had served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War
. After leaving the military and becoming a journalist, Thompson had produced numerous news stories about military subjects. Thompson discussed the phone call with his colleague and journalist Mike Wallace
, also a former naval officer, who asked him to begin following news stories about the explosion and the Navy's investigation into its cause more closely.
On September 7, 1989 Milligan and Admiral Leon A. Edney
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
, announced the results of Milligan's investigation. Milligan's investigation report, endorsed by the top Navy leadership, concluded that the explosion was "most probably" a result of an intentional act committed by a Turret Two crewman named Clayton Hartwig. According to the Navy, Hartwig, who had died in the explosion, was a suicidal loner who had initiated the explosion with either an electronic or chemical timer.
Robert Zelnick
, an ABC News
reporter, wrote an editorial for the New York Times on September 11, 1989 titled, "The Navy Scapegoats a Dead Seaman." In the editorial, Zelnick was sharply critical of the Navy's conclusions, stating that Hartwig had been subjected to a "process of guilt by fiat" and that the evidence against the sailor was very weak. Mike Wallace read Zelnick's article and asked Thompson to produce a report for broadcast on the explosion and the Navy's investigation.
With help from a team of ex-military officers, including Ed Snyder
, a former commander of the battleship USS New Jersey
, Thompson produced a story which aired on 60 Minutes in November 1989. The story, conducted by Mike Wallace, heavily criticized the findings of Milligan's investigation. The story contained an interview in which Milligan defended his conclusions, saying, "Mike, there is no other cause of this accident. We have looked at everything. We've ruled out everything. This was a deliberate act, most likely done by Petty Officer Hartwig."
The Navy's conclusions were heavily criticised by the victim's families, the media, and congress
. After a test found that an overram of the powder bags into the gun could have caused the explosion, the Navy reopened the investigation. On October 17, 1991 Frank Kelso, the new Navy Chief of Naval Operations
, announced that the Navy could not determine who or what had caused the tragedy. Kelso apologized to Hartwig's family and closed the Navy's investigation. An independent review of the Navy's investigation by Sandia National Laboratories
concluded that the explosion had probably been caused by an overram of the powder bags into the center gun's breech, possibly because of a malfunction in the rammer mechanism or because the gun crew was inadequately trained. Soon after, 60 Minutes broadcast an updated story on the Navy's investigation. The report, written and produced by Thompson and Wallace, included an interview with Kelso.
After the Navy closed its investigation, Thompson continued his own research into the explosion and its aftermath. Thompson was assisted by Snyder and other former Navy personnel, including Iowa crewmen and Navy headquarters staff members. Family members of the victims as well as staff members of the House
and Senate
Armed Services Committees also helped Thompson. In addition, he obtained information via Freedom of Information Act
requests to the Navy. Furthermore, Thompson accessed depositions taken from Navy leaders and investigators during a lawsuit against the Navy by Hartwig's family.
Thompson's book was published on April 19, 1999, the tenth anniversary of the explosion. The book's publisher was W. W. Norton & Company, based in New York City.
Fire Controlman
, Stephen Skelley, conducted illegal gunnery experiments with the 16-inch guns. Moosally apparently did not check to ensure that the experiments were authorized, or in some cases, appears not to have been aware that they were being carried out.
The book describes the explosion on April 19, 1989 and the heroic efforts by the ship's crew to contain the fires and avoid a cataclysmic detonation of the turret's powder magazines. After the fires were contained, Moosally ordered the crew to immediately begin cleaning-up the turret. The clean-up involved removing the bodies of the deceased turret crewman and disposing of the damaged turret equipment, all without photographing or otherwise recording the locations of the bodies or equipment which would have presumably assisted with the resulting investigation.
According to Thompson, the Navy immediately began efforts to cover up the cause of the explosion. Rear Admiral Richard Milligan, assigned to lead the investigation, soon focused his inquiry into trying to prove that one of the deceased turret's crewmembers, Clayton Hartwig, had intentionally caused the explosion. After learning that Hartwig had named another sailor and friend, Kendall Truitt, as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy on himself, Milligan enlisted the help of the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) (the predecessor of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
or NCIS) to investigate Hartwig and Truitt.
NIS investigators tried to prove, unsuccessfully, that Hartwig and Truitt had had a homosexual relationship with each other and that Hartwig had initiated the explosion after the relationship had soured. As the NIS investigation continued, information about the Navy's focus on the two sailors and innuendoes about their relationship were leaked to the media. The leaks were later attributed to have come from the NIS and from the Navy's headquarters. Thompson alleges that during its investigation, NIS agents lied or otherwise conducted themselves in an extremely unprofessional manner.
Captain Joseph Miceli, assigned by the Navy to lead the technical investigation into the explosion, had supervised the preparation of powder and shells used in Iowa's 16-inch guns. Thus, according to Thompson, Miceli had a conflict of interest in ensuring that the powder, ammunition, or guns were not at fault in the explosion. After being briefed on the NIS's focus on Hartwig, Miceli directed his investigative team to determine how Hartwig had initiated the explosion using an electrical or chemical detonator.
Throughout the investigation, according to Thompson, Admiral Leon A. Edney
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
, interfered with the investigation by sending suggestions to Milligan on avenues of inquiry and pushing for a finding that Hartwig or Truitt was responsible. Edney interfered with the investigation in order to prevent any findings that the Navy had knowingly operated an unsafe ship in an unsafe manner. Also, Edney feared that if the Iowa class battleships were found to be unsafe, the battleships would be decommissioned and the Navy would lose the associated admiral billets plus the other warships and support ships assigned to the battleship groups.
In September 1989, the Navy announced that it had determined that Hartwig intentionally caused the explosion. The victim's family members, many in the media, and the United States Congress
rejected the Navy's findings. Sandia National Laboratories
, acting on a request from the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
, determined that the explosion could have been an accident caused by overraming the powder bags into the gun's breech during the loading process. Forced by the revelation to reopen its investigation, the Navy inexplicably, according to Thompson, placed Miceli in charge of the new inquiry.
Nineteen months later, the Navy concluded that it could not determine who or what had caused the explosion, provided a partial apology to Hartwig's family, and closed its investigation. In contrast, Sandia concluded that the explosion had probably been caused by an overram of the powder bags into the center gun's breech, possibly because of a malfunction in the rammer mechanism or because the gun crew was inadequately trained.
, stated that, "In its main outlines, it convinces" and "Beyond accuracy, Thompson's book provides a gripping read". Steve Weinberg, in the Denver Post, wrote that, "Measured by its information gathering, this is a great book of investigative journalism." The book was selected by the Book of the Month Club
as its featured selection in March 1999.
Thompson stated that after the book was published a previously scheduled invitation to speak at the US Navy's National Museum
was rescinded, his book was banned from being sold in the museum's book store, and Navy exchange
stores at bases throughout the world were forbidden from selling his book. Emails between Navy officials obtained by Thompson through a Freedom of Information Act request
included one from a Navy public affairs officer dated April 15, 1999 saying with regard to Thompson, "I will call book wholesalers and tell them not to set up book signings with this author."
The Navy denied that it attempted to suppress or censor Thompson's book, stating that it had simply refused permission for Thompson to hold book signings on any Navy bases. In August 1999 Salon.com
checked the bookstores at the United States Naval Academy
, Naval Submarine Base New London
, and Iowa's former home base Naval Station Norfolk
and did not find the book available for sale at any of the locations.
In 2001 the FX TV network broadcast a movie A Glimpse of Hell
based on Thompson's book, starring James Caan and Robert Sean Leonard
. The movie received a 3.3 household rating and drew 2.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
, enough to make the movie the most-watched program in FX's seven-year history.
W. W. Norton does not appear to have released sales figures for the book. As of January 2009, Amazon.com
lists the book at #997,726 in sales out of all books offered by the bookseller, and at #85 in books related to the state of Iowa
.
s stated provided much of the information used in the book, for libel, false light privacy
, and conspiracy
. In April 2001, another former Iowa crewman filed a separate suit with the same attorney for the same causes of action. In response to the suits, Thompson stated that he stood "foursquare" behind his book's content.
In April 2004, the South Carolina Supreme Court
dismissed the suits against Thompson and Meyer, but allowed the suit against W. W. Norton to proceed. The court stated that South Carolina's long arm jurisdiction
did not apply to Thompson and Meyer, but did to W. W. Norton.
In February 2007 the suits were settled out-of-court for undisclosed terms. Stephen F. DeAntonio, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that his clients felt "totally vindicated." W. W. Norton did not publicly retract or repudiate any of the material in Thompson's book, however, instead sending a letter to the plaintiffs stating, in part, "To the extent you believe the book implies that any of you were engaged in a cover-up, were incompetent, committed criminal acts, violated Naval regulations or exhibited faulty seamanship or professional ineptitude, Norton regrets the emotional distress experienced by you or your family."
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, written by Charles C. Thompson II and published in 1999. The book describes the USS Iowa turret explosion
USS Iowa turret explosion
The USS Iowa turret explosion occurred in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret of the United States Navy battleship USS Iowa on April 19, 1989. The explosion in the center gun room killed 47 of the turret's crewmen and severely damaged the gun turret itself...
that took place on April 19, 1989 and the subsequent investigations that tried to determine the cause. The explosion aboard the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
killed 47 of the turret's crewmen.
Soon after the explosion, Thompson was informed by an Iowa crewman that the Navy was conducting a dishonest investigation into the cause of the tragedy. Thompson, a producer for the television newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, later produced several television reports which disputed the Navy's conclusions as to what had caused the explosion.
Based on his work for the 60 Minutes reports plus further investigation on his own, Thompson wrote A Glimpse of Hell. The book was published by W. W. Norton & Company. Thompson's book was extremely critical of most of the Navy personnel involved in the investigation, concluding that the Navy had orchestrated a cover-up to conceal the true cause of the explosion.
Upon its publication, the book received favorable comments from book reviewers. Thompson later claimed that the Navy tried to suppress sales by banning the book from Navy exchange
Base exchange
A Base Exchange is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide...
stores on Navy bases throughout the world. In 2001, five Navy servicemen named in Thompson's book sued Thompson, the book's publisher, and one of Thompson's sources for libel, false light privacy, and conspiracy. The suit was settled out-of-court in 2007 for undisclosed terms.
Background
On the morning of April 19, 1989, the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
USS Iowa
USS Iowa (BB-61)
USS Iowa was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 29th state...
, under the command of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Fred Moosally
Fred Moosally
Fred P. Moosally is a former Captain in the United States Navy. During his naval career, Moosally served in many different assignments, including commander of a destroyer and the battleship USS Iowa...
, was 260 nautical miles (481.5 km) northeast of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, steaming at 15 kn (18 mph; 29 km/h), and preparing to engage in a live-fire exercise with its 16-inch guns. At 09:53, as the ship's 16-inch Turret Two loaded and prepared to fire its three guns, a fireball between 2500 and 3000 °F (1400 and 1650 °C) and traveling at 2000 feet per second (609.6 m/s) with a pressure of 4000 pound per square inches (27.6 MPa) blew out from the turret's center gun's open breech. The fireball spread through all three of the turret's gun rooms and through much of the lower levels of the turret. All 47 crewmen inside the turret were killed.
Soon after the fires in the turret were extinguished, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Joseph S. Donnell, commander of Surface Forces Atlantic, appointed Rear Admiral Richard Milligan to conduct an informal one-officer investigation into the explosion. Milligan boarded Iowa with his staff on April 20 and began his investigation by interviewing Iowa crewmembers. Milligan's investigation continued after Iowa returned to its home port of Norfolk on April 23.
Five days after the explosion, a gunner's mate
Gunner's Mate
The United States Navy occupational rating of gunner's mate also known as gunsmens mate is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" school training, or who "strike" for the rating as a deck seaman by...
who worked in Iowa's Turret One called Charles Thompson and told him that Milligan was conducting a dishonest investigation. "The news media is the only thing that can keep the Navy honest" said the caller. Thompson, a producer for 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, was a former US Navy officer and naval gunfire spotter who had served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. After leaving the military and becoming a journalist, Thompson had produced numerous news stories about military subjects. Thompson discussed the phone call with his colleague and journalist Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
, also a former naval officer, who asked him to begin following news stories about the explosion and the Navy's investigation into its cause more closely.
Leon A. Edney
Leon Albert "Bud" Edney is a retired United States Navy officer. A native of Dedham, Massachusetts, he retired from the Navy as an admiral and served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy.-Naval career:...
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
, announced the results of Milligan's investigation. Milligan's investigation report, endorsed by the top Navy leadership, concluded that the explosion was "most probably" a result of an intentional act committed by a Turret Two crewman named Clayton Hartwig. According to the Navy, Hartwig, who had died in the explosion, was a suicidal loner who had initiated the explosion with either an electronic or chemical timer.
Robert Zelnick
Robert Zelnick
Robert Zelnick is an American journalist, author and professor of journalism at the Boston University College of Communication. Zelnick was a correspondent for ABC News for more than twenty years. His assignments included national political and congressional affairs , The Pentagon , Israel and...
, an ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
reporter, wrote an editorial for the New York Times on September 11, 1989 titled, "The Navy Scapegoats a Dead Seaman." In the editorial, Zelnick was sharply critical of the Navy's conclusions, stating that Hartwig had been subjected to a "process of guilt by fiat" and that the evidence against the sailor was very weak. Mike Wallace read Zelnick's article and asked Thompson to produce a report for broadcast on the explosion and the Navy's investigation.
With help from a team of ex-military officers, including Ed Snyder
J. Edward Snyder
Rear Adm. J. Edward Snyder, USN was notable as the captain of the battleship USS New Jersey during that ship's deployment to the Vietnam War in 1968...
, a former commander of the battleship USS New Jersey
USS New Jersey (BB-62)
USS New Jersey , is an , and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of New Jersey. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and is the only U.S...
, Thompson produced a story which aired on 60 Minutes in November 1989. The story, conducted by Mike Wallace, heavily criticized the findings of Milligan's investigation. The story contained an interview in which Milligan defended his conclusions, saying, "Mike, there is no other cause of this accident. We have looked at everything. We've ruled out everything. This was a deliberate act, most likely done by Petty Officer Hartwig."
The Navy's conclusions were heavily criticised by the victim's families, the media, and congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. After a test found that an overram of the powder bags into the gun could have caused the explosion, the Navy reopened the investigation. On October 17, 1991 Frank Kelso, the new Navy Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
, announced that the Navy could not determine who or what had caused the tragedy. Kelso apologized to Hartwig's family and closed the Navy's investigation. An independent review of the Navy's investigation by Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
concluded that the explosion had probably been caused by an overram of the powder bags into the center gun's breech, possibly because of a malfunction in the rammer mechanism or because the gun crew was inadequately trained. Soon after, 60 Minutes broadcast an updated story on the Navy's investigation. The report, written and produced by Thompson and Wallace, included an interview with Kelso.
After the Navy closed its investigation, Thompson continued his own research into the explosion and its aftermath. Thompson was assisted by Snyder and other former Navy personnel, including Iowa crewmen and Navy headquarters staff members. Family members of the victims as well as staff members of the House
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
and Senate
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
Armed Services Committees also helped Thompson. In addition, he obtained information via Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
requests to the Navy. Furthermore, Thompson accessed depositions taken from Navy leaders and investigators during a lawsuit against the Navy by Hartwig's family.
Thompson's book was published on April 19, 1999, the tenth anniversary of the explosion. The book's publisher was W. W. Norton & Company, based in New York City.
Content
The book begins by describing conditions aboard Iowa before the explosion. Thompson depicts Moosally, the ship's captain, as an inept seaman who gained command of the battleship through political connections. Under Moosally's leadership, or lack thereof, Iowa operated with severe training and safety deficiencies, especially with regard to operations with the ship's 16-inch guns. The book details how the ship's Master ChiefMaster Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...
Fire Controlman
Fire Controlman
Fire Controlman is a United States Navy occupational rating.Fire Controlmen provide system employment recommendations; perform organizational and intermediate maintenance on digital computer equipment, subsystems, and systems; operate and maintain combat and weapons direction systems,...
, Stephen Skelley, conducted illegal gunnery experiments with the 16-inch guns. Moosally apparently did not check to ensure that the experiments were authorized, or in some cases, appears not to have been aware that they were being carried out.
The book describes the explosion on April 19, 1989 and the heroic efforts by the ship's crew to contain the fires and avoid a cataclysmic detonation of the turret's powder magazines. After the fires were contained, Moosally ordered the crew to immediately begin cleaning-up the turret. The clean-up involved removing the bodies of the deceased turret crewman and disposing of the damaged turret equipment, all without photographing or otherwise recording the locations of the bodies or equipment which would have presumably assisted with the resulting investigation.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
or NCIS) to investigate Hartwig and Truitt.
NIS investigators tried to prove, unsuccessfully, that Hartwig and Truitt had had a homosexual relationship with each other and that Hartwig had initiated the explosion after the relationship had soured. As the NIS investigation continued, information about the Navy's focus on the two sailors and innuendoes about their relationship were leaked to the media. The leaks were later attributed to have come from the NIS and from the Navy's headquarters. Thompson alleges that during its investigation, NIS agents lied or otherwise conducted themselves in an extremely unprofessional manner.
Captain Joseph Miceli, assigned by the Navy to lead the technical investigation into the explosion, had supervised the preparation of powder and shells used in Iowa's 16-inch guns. Thus, according to Thompson, Miceli had a conflict of interest in ensuring that the powder, ammunition, or guns were not at fault in the explosion. After being briefed on the NIS's focus on Hartwig, Miceli directed his investigative team to determine how Hartwig had initiated the explosion using an electrical or chemical detonator.
Throughout the investigation, according to Thompson, Admiral Leon A. Edney
Leon A. Edney
Leon Albert "Bud" Edney is a retired United States Navy officer. A native of Dedham, Massachusetts, he retired from the Navy as an admiral and served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy.-Naval career:...
, the Navy's Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
, interfered with the investigation by sending suggestions to Milligan on avenues of inquiry and pushing for a finding that Hartwig or Truitt was responsible. Edney interfered with the investigation in order to prevent any findings that the Navy had knowingly operated an unsafe ship in an unsafe manner. Also, Edney feared that if the Iowa class battleships were found to be unsafe, the battleships would be decommissioned and the Navy would lose the associated admiral billets plus the other warships and support ships assigned to the battleship groups.
In September 1989, the Navy announced that it had determined that Hartwig intentionally caused the explosion. The victim's family members, many in the media, and the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
rejected the Navy's findings. Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
, acting on a request from the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
, determined that the explosion could have been an accident caused by overraming the powder bags into the gun's breech during the loading process. Forced by the revelation to reopen its investigation, the Navy inexplicably, according to Thompson, placed Miceli in charge of the new inquiry.
Nineteen months later, the Navy concluded that it could not determine who or what had caused the explosion, provided a partial apology to Hartwig's family, and closed its investigation. In contrast, Sandia concluded that the explosion had probably been caused by an overram of the powder bags into the center gun's breech, possibly because of a malfunction in the rammer mechanism or because the gun crew was inadequately trained.
Critical reception, Navy reaction, and movie
Upon its publication, the book received favorable reviews. Dan Blue, reviewing the book for the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, stated that, "In its main outlines, it convinces" and "Beyond accuracy, Thompson's book provides a gripping read". Steve Weinberg, in the Denver Post, wrote that, "Measured by its information gathering, this is a great book of investigative journalism." The book was selected by the Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
as its featured selection in March 1999.
Thompson stated that after the book was published a previously scheduled invitation to speak at the US Navy's National Museum
U.S. Navy Museum
The National Museum of the United States Navy, or U.S. Navy Museum for short, is the flagship museum of the United States Navy and is located in the former Breech Mechanism Shop of the old Naval Gun Factory on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., USA.The U.S...
was rescinded, his book was banned from being sold in the museum's book store, and Navy exchange
Base exchange
A Base Exchange is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide...
stores at bases throughout the world were forbidden from selling his book. Emails between Navy officials obtained by Thompson through a Freedom of Information Act request
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
included one from a Navy public affairs officer dated April 15, 1999 saying with regard to Thompson, "I will call book wholesalers and tell them not to set up book signings with this author."
The Navy denied that it attempted to suppress or censor Thompson's book, stating that it had simply refused permission for Thompson to hold book signings on any Navy bases. In August 1999 Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
checked the bookstores at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, and Iowa's former home base Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
and did not find the book available for sale at any of the locations.
In 2001 the FX TV network broadcast a movie A Glimpse of Hell
A Glimpse of Hell (film)
A Glimpse of Hell is a drama film originally made for TV and was initially shown on the FX TV network. It was released in the United States on March 18, 2001. It was filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and stars James Caan, Robert Sean Leonard, and Daniel Roebuck. It was directed by Mikael...
based on Thompson's book, starring James Caan and Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard is an American actor, who has regularly starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Since 2004 he has played the role of Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House...
. The movie received a 3.3 household rating and drew 2.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, enough to make the movie the most-watched program in FX's seven-year history.
W. W. Norton does not appear to have released sales figures for the book. As of January 2009, Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
lists the book at #997,726 in sales out of all books offered by the bookseller, and at #85 in books related to the state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Lawsuit
In March 2001 Moosally, Miceli, and two other former Iowa officers filed suit against Thompson, W. W. Norton, and Dan Meyer, who the plaintiffPlaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s stated provided much of the information used in the book, for libel, false light privacy
False light
False light is a legal term that refers to a tort concerning privacy that is similar to the tort of defamation. The privacy laws in the United States include a non-public person's right to privacy from publicity which puts them in a false light to the public; which is balanced against the First...
, and conspiracy
Conspiracy (civil)
A civil conspiracy or collusion is an agreement between two or more parties to deprive a third party of legal rights or deceive a third party to obtain an illegal objective....
. In April 2001, another former Iowa crewman filed a separate suit with the same attorney for the same causes of action. In response to the suits, Thompson stated that he stood "foursquare" behind his book's content.
In April 2004, the South Carolina Supreme Court
South Carolina Supreme Court
The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
dismissed the suits against Thompson and Meyer, but allowed the suit against W. W. Norton to proceed. The court stated that South Carolina's long arm jurisdiction
Long arm jurisdiction
In United States jurisprudence, long arm jurisdiction is a statutory grant of jurisdiction to local courts over foreign defendants. A state's ability to confer jurisdiction is limited by the Constitution...
did not apply to Thompson and Meyer, but did to W. W. Norton.
In February 2007 the suits were settled out-of-court for undisclosed terms. Stephen F. DeAntonio, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that his clients felt "totally vindicated." W. W. Norton did not publicly retract or repudiate any of the material in Thompson's book, however, instead sending a letter to the plaintiffs stating, in part, "To the extent you believe the book implies that any of you were engaged in a cover-up, were incompetent, committed criminal acts, violated Naval regulations or exhibited faulty seamanship or professional ineptitude, Norton regrets the emotional distress experienced by you or your family."