And that's serious when it's a fishing trawler with real people on board, including students on a field trip. Nine people are missing and the Japanese trawler lies at the bottom of the Pacific. In the wake of this tragic smash-up in the Pacific, the Navy suspended civilian ride alongs. No more civilian joy rides. Then, quietly, the military re-opened he ticket window again.
Free rides are back.
The PR value is just too important, the brass says. Meanwhile, everybody's waiting to see what happens at the Court of Inquiry in Hawaii into this USS Greenville Incident. But we know this much. This wows the public, the politicians and the press. They always say they need more money.