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Keep in mind that the Iowa has a history of being a friendly place for Republicans.

For Democrats? Not so much:

Don't Shoot, We're Republicans!

"Down on the torpedo mounts, the crew watched, waiting to take some practice shots of their own at the big battleship, which even though 6,000 yards away, seemed to blot out the horizen. Lawton Dawson and Tony Fazio were among those responsible for the torpedoes. Part of their job involved ensuring that the primers were installed during actual combat and removed during practice. Once a primer was installed, on a command to fire, it would explode shooting the torpedo out of its tube.

"Dawson, on this particular morning, unfortunately had forgotten to remove the primer from torpedo tube #3. Up on the bridge, a new torpedo officer, unaware of the danger, ordered a simulated firing. Fire 1, Fire 2 and finally Fire 3. There was no fire 4 as the sequence was interrupted by an unmistakable "whoooooooshhhhing" sound made by a successfully launched and armed torpedo.

"Lt H. Steward Lewis, who witnessed the entire event, later described the next few minutes as what hell would look like if it ever broke loose. Just after he saw the torpedo hit the water, on its way to the IOWA and some of the most prominent figures in world history, Lewis innocently asked the Captain., "did you give permission to fire a torpedo?"

...

Meanwhile, on IOWAs bridge, word of the torpedo firing had reached FDR, who asked that his wheelchair be moved to the railing so he could see better what was coming his way. His loyal Secret Service guard immediately drew his pistol as if he was going to shoot the torpedo.

"As the IOWA began evasive maneuvers, all of her guns were trained on the WILLIAM D PORTER. There was now some thought that the PORTER was part of an assassination plot. Within moments of the warning, there was a tremendous explosion just behind the battleship. The torpedo had been detonated by the wash kicked up by the battleship's increased speed. The crisis was over and so was Captain Walker's career. His final utterance to the IOWA, in response to a question about the origin of the torpedo, was a weak, "We did it."

"Shortly thereafter, the brand new destroyer, her Captain and the entire crew were placed under arrest and sent to Bermuda for trial. It was the first time that a complete ship's company had been arrested in the history of the U.S. Navy. The ship was surrounded by Marines when it docked in Bermuda, and held there several days as the closed session inquiry attempted to determine what had happened. Torpedoman Dawson eventually confessed to having inadvertently left the primer in the torpedo tube, which caused the launching. Dawson had thrown the used primer over the side to conceal his mistake.

"The whole incident was chalked up to an unfortunate set of circumstances and placed under a cloak of secrecy. Someone had to be punished. Captain Walker and several other PORTER officers and Sailors eventually found themselves in obscure shore assignments. Dawson was sentenced to 14-years hard labor. President Roosevelt intervened; however, asking that no punishment be meted out for what was clearly an accident.

"The destroyer was banished to the upper Aleutians. It was probably thought this was as safe a place as any for the ship and anyone who came near her. She remained in the frozen north for almost a year, until late 1944, when she was re-assigned to the Western Pacific.

"Before leaving the Aleutians, she accidentally left her calling card in the form of a 5-inch shell fired into the front yard of the American Base Commander, thus re-arranging his flower garden.