Sub victims’ Relatives of the nine Japanese who lost their lives in the sinking of the Ehime Maru south of Diamond Head were upset even before the Navy announced that Greeneville skipper Cmdr. Scott Waddle might not be court-martialed.
families rip
Navy penalty
Several wanted a court-martial,
to stress responsibility or learn
more about the crashBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinThe decision by Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, follows the recommendation of three admirals who conducted a court of inquiry at Pearl Harbor Naval Station last month, according to various news report.
Instead of a court-martial, Fargo has decided to punish Waddle, 41, in an administrative hearing known as an admiral's mast. That action will take place Monday, according to the New York Times. The admiral's mast is expected to include a formal letter of reprimand for Waddle, which effectively will end his career in the submarine corps.
Fargo may issue a formal reprimand to Waddle and grant him an honorable discharge with a pension. Waddle also could be fined.
Rear Adm. Robert Chaplin, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in Japan, and eight other officers met yesterday with Moriyuki Kato, the governor of Ehime, home to the Uwajim Fisheries High School.
Pacific Fleet spokesman Jon Yoshishige said the U.S. side was briefing the Japanese on all punishment possibilities -- ranging from a court-martial to a letter of reprimand
Yoshishige declined to comment on news reports that Fargo had decided against a court-martial for three of the sub's officers: Waddle; the executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer; and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen.
Last week six Navy officials visited Uwajima in Ehime prefecture to explain the compensation process.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Robert Pirie, who already has said he does not believe Waddle should be court-martialed, has the statutory authority to settle and pay claims if the amount is less than $1 million.
"The secretary may approve settlements in greater amounts," Yoshishige said, "but must certify the claim for payment to Congress."
Yoshishige said there are three groups of eligible claimants -- 26 surviving crew members of the Ehime Maru, the families of the nine missing people, and the prefecture, which owned the boat.
Hidenori Doi, chairman of the alumni association at Uwajima Fisheries school, which operated the Ehime Maru, said he believed the court had simply wanted to avoid inflicting severe punishments against naval colleagues.
"If they decided on lighter punishments for fear that stronger ones would weaken morale in the U.S. Navy, then they made a bad decision," Doi said.
Mikie Nakata, 59, the mother of Jun Nakata, an instructor whose body was never found, said she had hoped Waddle and other naval officials would be made to take responsibility for the accident by being court-martialed.
Teruo Terata, 59, whose 18-year-old nephew Yusuke Terata is still missing from the Feb. 9 accident, said, "I cannot possibly accept this outcome." Terata said the case will be closed "without hurting the organization of the Navy and without bringing out facts (of the crash) other than those disclosed at the court of inquiry."
The Associated Press, Kyodo News Service,
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and
Yomiuri Shimbun contributed to this report.
