Evening star., 1923-11-01
LAYS NAVAL WRECK
TO THREE. OFFICERS
Destroyer Disaster Inquiry
Report UnsparingIy BIames
Navigating Efficiency.

Fixing complete responsi bility"
for the loss of seven destroyers and
of twenty-three lives at Honda Point,
Calf, September 8, on three Of
ficers attached to the destroyer Del
ply, the findings of the naval board
of inquiry, on which a court martial
had been ordered, charged them with
"culpabable ineffieiency in the per-
formance of duty" Eight other off,
GERS who commanded destroyers in
the group, which crashed on the rocks
after misfalculation of position will
face trial On charges of negligence.
The report of the board, published
today. said it was no "extenuating
circumstances" in the case of the
squadron commander, Capt. Edward
H. Watson, the commanding officer of
the Delphy; Lieut.. Commander Donald
I: Hunter, and the navigating officer,
Lieut.. Lawrence F. Blodgett. to eX-
cuse them from accepting full re-
sponsibility for the accident" 1t was
held to be directly attributable to
bad judgment and faulty navigation"
on their part.
Bravery Is Praised.
For having too blindly followed
the judgment of the squadron COM
mander' in failing to check the po-
sition of their individual ships, the
commanders of the other destroyers,
the court found. must be held respon-
sible in a measure. Had correct
judgment been displayed on their
part, the report said, the equipment
of each vessel could have been used
to check their position against that
ascertained for the Delphy.
The hoard highly commended the
c hu ha nI nf
the destroyers in the emergency of
the crash, declaring it was due to
this perfect discipline that the loss
of life was SO small" 1t cited more
than a dozen officers and men whom
it thought SHOULD be commended by
Secretary DENLY.
The report was declared by veteran
naval officers here to be almost un-
precedented in it's sweeping commen-
dation of those alleged to be respon-
sible for. the disaster.
Report Is Drastic.
I'm the opinion of the court" it
said. "the disaster is. in the first in
stance. directly attributable TO bad
errors of Judgment and faulty navi-
cation on the part of three officers
attached to and serving on the
Delphy, viz: The squadron COM
the navigating officer Their
responsibility is complete and the
court sees no extenuating circum-
stances"
!. Dividing the fatal cruise of the
flotilla into three periods. the board
credit upon the Navy" but commend
ed highly the morale shown In the
third period. which comprised the time
after the ships had struck.
From that instant" the report
said, squadron eleven displayed
zeal, courage and coolness in face of
grave danger. which is a matter of
pride to the Navy and should be to
every American. From the COM
down there was perfect dis
cipline and the highest tradition of
the Service were lived up to. Not
a single case is reported on any ship
where officers or men faltered in
their duty or failed to act calmly
under orders. 1t is due to this perfect
discipline that the loss Of life was SO
small
Special Citations Given.
Among individuals specially cited
were:
Commander William L. Calhoun, 'for
coolness. intelligence and seaman
ship; Lieut.. Commander Walter D.
Seed, ''for great bravery in swimming
seventy five yards in a turbulent sea
to test the feasibility of arrangement
for salvage of his crew.; Ensign B. S.
Jones and nine members of the crew
of the Fuller. for volunteering to
operate a whaleboat "in the face of
constant danger; Chief Boatswain's
Mate Arthur Peterson. Engineman E.
l.. Rhodehamel and Machinst Frank
M. Noon, for extraordinary heroism,"
and Lieut.. E. C. Herzinger, ''for espe-
cially meritoriuS conduct" Machinist
G. G. Disregard was commended for
remaining ar his post on the Chaun-
cey until water was above his waist,
and Commander w. G. Roper for sea-
manlike ability.
The board found no evidence of un-
usual tides or extreme errors of
radio signals which it would accept
as contributing to the disaster, al
though radio bearings received by
the squadron commander were OBJ
vfously in error when considered for
purposes" Each ship,
the report said, had it's equipment for
determining course and location, which
could have been used if correct judg-
ment had been displayed.
Speed Is Criticized.
In view of the maneuvers in which
the ships were engaged, the board
did not think speed of twenty knots
was excessive for the greater part of
the cruise, but held that ii should
soon as the first doubt as to the po-
sition of the squadron was felt,
Attached to the report was an esti-
mate fixing the money loss as a re-
suit of the disaster at $13,274,95290.
Against this. however, is to be offset
the value of any salvaged material
CoURT-MARTIAL DELAYED.