Talk:Charles B. McVay III

Blurb for DYK
Did You Know


 * ...Charles Butler McVay III, commander of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35), blamed when it was lost at sea in 1945 with massive loss of life, was finally exonerated by the United States Congress posthumously in 2000?

Does anyone know if he had any kids?

"Service Revolver"
This article states that Captain McVay killed himself with his "service revolver". This statement needs referencing, as US Naval Officers do not have 'service' pistols. Had he illegally kept a pistol from his active duty days, it would have most likely been a Colt .45 semi-automatic. For the most part, past 1941, only aircrew were issued revolvers (I was issued a .38 revolver as late as 1991). However, regardless of the model, I don't see him as having a "service revolver".81.106.185.70 (talk) 13:52, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

In Harm's Way
Has anyone ever read the book "In Harm's Way", by Doug Stanton? If wanting to learn about the experiences McVay had on the USS Indianapolis, then I would recommend reading this book. It also contains a list at the beginning of the book of all the crew members, including its survivors. Thesomeone987 (talk) 00:58, 15 September 2010 (UTC)Thesomeone987

Unsourced "assertion"
Source (1) no longer goes to any meaningful page or website, so the "fact" that one of the commanders who received the distress signal was dead drunk, etc. is now an "assertion" unless otherwise sourced. I'll delete it in a few days.

Miscarriage of justice?
It is normal practice in the Royal Navy to court martial an officer whose ship sinks, to determine the cause. McVay was not treated any more harshly than an RN officer, though not as leniently as most US officers. He was found at fault in the trial. A "political" campaign to "exonerate" him followed many many years later. There was no appeal or retrial, and the campaign was not based on any alleged deficiencies with the trial. So can we say that there was a miscarriage of justice?203.184.41.226 (talk) 07:46, 23 May 2013 (UTC)


 * The ship was not sunk because of the failure to zigzag, but zig-zagging might have prevented the ships loss. In enemy infested waters zig-sagging would be normal practice. So why is the conviction called a "miscarriage of justice"?119.224.13.116 (talk) 20:12, 29 July 2015 (UTC)


 * As the article states experts stated zig-zaging was of negligible value. Also it is pointed out that in 2000 the Congress had to step in to correct this injustice.--2606:A000:131D:4413:6D28:46EE:673B:3126 (talk) 00:29, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Top Secret Mission?
The first paragraph is incorrect. According to Newcomb's book, the Indianapolis' top secret mission ended when the bomb parts were delivered to Trinian. It was then ordered to report to Leyte. These orders were not secret, nor was the ship under radio silence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.137.134.50 (talk) 19:10, 27 December 2018 (UTC)

family?
The article mentions the death of McVay's wife, but nothing more about any family. When was McVay married? Did they have any children? Elsquared (talk) 07:59, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Date of birth confusion
In the article lead, it lists his birthday as August 31, 1898. In the infobox, it lists July 31, 1898. In the "Education and career" section, it lists July 30, 1898. None of these have a reference. I found one reference for his birthday listing the August date, which I have added to the article. ··· 日本穣 ·  投稿  · Talk to Nihonjoe ·  Join WP Japan ! 16:55, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion for worthwhile EL
The podcast network Wondery has a series of dramatic re-enactments of the sinking. (They are very good.) Here is a link that may assist. – S. Rich (talk) 03:52, 27 March 2022 (UTC)