Posted on 08/19/2014 3:21:06 PM PDT by Theoria
The USS Houston sank during World War II after being hit by the Japanese, killing 700 sailors and Marines. Now, more than 70 years later, U.S. and Indonesian divers have confirmed that a sunken vessel in the Java Sea was the wreck of the ship dubbed "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast."
The Houston was carrying 1,068 crewmen when it was hit on Feb. 28, 1942, during the Battle of Sunda Strait. Only 291 sailors and Marines survived the sinking and their later use as slave labor by the Japanese. The vessel's commanding officer, Capt. Albert H. Rooks, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism.
"Surveying the site, of course, was only the first step in partnering to respect those Sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the freedoms and security that we richly enjoy today," U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Harry Harris said in a statement Monday.
The site of the wreck is a popular recreational diving site, and the statement noted that U.S. and Indonesian divers documented evidence of a pattern of "unauthorized disturbance of the gravesite." This includes the removal of hull rivets and a metal plate from the ship, Harris said. He added that U.S. and Indonesian authorities were coordinating to develop measures to prevent further disturbance of the site.
The team also noted the "unauthorized recovery of unexploded ordnance" and an "active seepage of oil from the hull."
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
US Navy divers to visit wreck of USS Houston in Indonesia[FR]
Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston; WWII/Cold War books on BookTV/C-Span2 Jan13/14[FR]
Just as an aside, do people always have to play with their phones?
Leave it to NRrrrr.
Active seepage. It’s still polluting.
More greenhouse out gassing.
WWII ping.
Thanks colorado. Damaged at the Battle of the Java Sea, the Houston was trying to escape the night she was ambushed and sunk.
It’s a shame divers think they need to desecrate a war grave for a few souveniers.
At the outbreak of WWII she was the flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, home ported at Cavite in the Philippines.
Yes, it really is a shame. Fortunately, Iron Bottom Sound is too deep for recreational divers.
I’m trying to think of anybody, with the wherewithal and no regard for Infidel graves sites, who might want to take part in “unauthorized recovery of unexploded ordinance” in that area; any ideas? /sarc
You're too far south for the Houston.
And about 3700 miles east.
Yes, she and HMAS Perth had just roughed up the troop transports and were trying to get back to Sunda Strait to escape south. They fought gallantly.
No, my point was that Iron Bottom Sound is too deep for recreational divers, in contrast with the Houston, which is in shallow waters and is being vandalized by recreational divers. I know where Sunda Strait is.
This includes the removal of hull rivets and a metal plate from the ship,
My mistake.
"East of Java"?
Yep, like Krakatoa, the Strait is west of Java.
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