The French Did It
The string of theories explaining the sinking of Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose on 19 July 1545 has grown by one. According to a new academic study, she was sunk by a French cannonball and buried by political spin.
The generally accepted theory was that a combination of wind and tide heeled the warship during a 16th-century battle in the Solent. This pushed her lee-side gun ports below water level to flood and capsize the ship with the loss of more than 400 lives. Now, a University of Portsmouth geographer believes the truth was withheld to maintain the navy's image.
According to Dr. Dominic Fontana: "The Mary Rose was holed by French gunfire received from an advance party of fast, oar-powered galleys which were heavily armed. She would have quickly taken quite a quantity of water into her hull before she maneuvered to bring a broadside of guns to bear on the attacking French galleys." The maneuver caused the unrestrained movement of the water below decks to capsize the flagship.
Fontana noted that by declaring the Mary Rose was knocked down by wind and an incompetent crew, the British would not be forced to admit defeat to the French, and Henry's pride and Navy supremacy would remain intact.
The geographer used a number of research methods to support his theory. Geographical Information Systems technology helped create a map from one of a set of contemporary illustrations—called the Cowdray engravings—which depicted the ship's final battle. The map, in combination with data from the Tudor warship's recovery, "showed that the Cowdray engraving gave a really good geographical impression of what went on." He integrated this data with hour-by-hour tidal currents over the period of the battle. But it is the archaeological evidence he cites that is most compelling. Tools and skeletal remains found in the Mary Rose's hold show that men, who would otherwise not have been there in the middle of a battle, were working in the dark to plug the hole made by the cannonball.
"Those onshore would not have known anything about flooding in the hull caused by a French hit on the ship and it would have appeared as though she had been caught by a freak gust of wind and blown over," Fontana noted.
Combat Hero, Marine Reformer
General Robert H. Barrow, the 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1979-83, died on 30 October in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Barrow, 86, was twice honored with the nation's second highest awards for valor: the Navy Cross in Korea and the Army's Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam. He also served during World War II with a guerilla force behind Japanese lines in China, for which he earned the Bronze Star with Combat "V."
Retired Marine Lieutenant General Bernard E. Trainor wrote in a Proceedings tribute, despite General Barrow's battlefield accomplishments, his greatest victories were as a reformer: "[H]e devoted himself to purging the Corps of undesirables, tightening standards, and bringing the Marines back to the pinnacle of professionalism." The New York Times noted that General Barrow was "instrumental in drafting reforms designed to end physical abuse and harassment of recruit trainees by drill instructors." During his tenure he sought to raise the quality of recruits by, among other means, seeking high school graduates. The number of graduates increased from less than 50 percent in 1975 to 82 percent in 1982.
Admiral Holloway Steps Down
After 28 years leading the Naval Historical Foundation, Admiral James L. Holloway III announced his retirement as chairman of the organization in mid-November. Holloway, 87, had a distinguished naval career that concluded with a tour as the 20th chief of Naval Operations from 1974-78. In his remarks to the foundation's board of directors, Holloway stated he regretted stepping down but felt "he needed to pursue retirement at a slower pace." The board proceeded to name Holloway as chairman emeritus by acclamation and elect retired Admiral Bruce DeMars as chairman.
Holloway had been recruited to serve as foundation president in 1980 by another former CNO, Admiral Arleigh Burke. In 1998, the membership approved Holloway's selection as the organization's fourth chairman. During his tenure, the foundation's focus became support of the U.S. Navy's history programs. Since its founding in 1926, the organization had concentrated on collecting and preserving papers, artifacts, and artwork related to the Navy's heritage.
Time Bomb's Time Is About Up
Some two nautical miles west of the island Fedje, just north of Bergen, Norway, an ecologic time bomb has rested on the sea floor for more than 63 years. Recently, the Norwegian Coastal Administration agreed on a method to neutralize the problem.
On 9 February 1945, the U-864 was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Venturer, sinking the U-boat with the loss of all 73 on board. Entombed with the doomed crew is the submarine's cargo of approximately 67 tons of highly toxic metallic mercury and a load of weapons. The wreck is considered to be a long-term human health and environment threat.
The Norwegian Parliament's choices are whether to recover the wreck and remove all the pollutants from the marine environment, or encase it and the contaminated sediment on the seabed to prevent the spread of pollutants. The Coastal Administration signed a contract in late November with Mammoet Salvage B.V. based on its proposed method to raise the wreck that satisfies the environmental requirements. If the Parliament approves the method, possibly by the end of 2008, the operation will likely occur in 2010.
The salvage company proposed a fully remote-controlled operation based on its experience with the salvage of the cargo ship Runner 4 in the Baltic Sea in 2007 and its parent firm's salvage of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk in 2001. No divers will be used in the proposed recovery.
'Helping Some Come Home'
During the early morning hours of 20 November 1943, members of the 2d Marine Division mounted an amphibious attack against the Japanese stronghold of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, in the Gilbert Islands. The battle lasted 72 hours and would become notorious for the high number of casualties the Americans suffered
more than 1,100 Marines and Sailors killed. Many of the bodies of Marines buried on the island were never recovered after the war.In November 2008, members of a research team returned from Tarawa with information on the locations of the remains of 139 men among 541 listed as missing on the atoll.
A year earlier, the non-profit History Flight organization of Marathon, Florida, and WFI Research Group of Fall River, Massachusetts, agreed to mount a joint venture to locate and begin a process that would ultimately return the remains of these war dead to their families. With the financial support of the VFW, the American Legion, the Baddour Foundation, private individuals, and History Flight board members, the team sent a group of professional researchers, historians, and ground-penetrating radar specialists to Tarawa.
The remains, all believed to be those of Marines and Sailors who died during the battle, were located in eight separate mass-burial sites. Five of the sites had been disturbed during extensive construction activity on the island, and the potential for looting still exists. One of the sites contains the remains of Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman, who earned the Medal of Honor posthumously for valor during the battle. Mark Noah, founder of History Flight, said: "We're compiling the final reports on our efforts and when they're completed, we'll be contacting the Department of Defense's POW-MIA Office and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. We'll make one additional trip to the island to search for the remaining grave sites and make arrangements for the return and identification of the bodies."
"Allowing the families of the missing to finally have closure is our foremost goal," added Noah. He acknowledges, however, that once their report is finished—it's due to be released early next year—he hopes that DOD will pick up where he and colleague Ted Darcy of the WFI Research Group have left off, because it can do the "best, most qualitative recovery."
Despite numerous obstacles, the team was heartened by its find
the largest since the remains of 19 Marines were recovered from Makin Atoll in 1999. "It's a lifelong passion of mine," said Noah, "to be able to connect with history and help some of these people come home."Raisins: Trafalgar's Tipping Point?
Maybe the attribution and service are wrong.
Napoleon Bonaparte is often cited as the source of the phrase "an army marches on its stomach." A contemporary of le petit caporal, Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, could just as easily be cited for the similar, but heretofore unknown, "a navy sails on its stomach."
A newly discovered letter reveals that the admiral made certain his sailors went into the Battle of Trafalgar with full bellies. In the missive, dated 14 October 1805—exactly one week before the historic battle—Nelson ordered a replenishment vessel, HMS Ajax, to "supply the Minotaur with . . . suet and fruit." The suet could have been used in a main meal, or both ingredients could have been combined to make a steamed fruit pudding called spotted dog, known today as spotted dick.
James Davey of the Greenwich Maritime Institute said: "Nelson's letter would have referred to raisins, or possibly currants, as both could be stored for months at a time. It was standard practice to stock ships up with such dried fruit."
The letter, which is signed Nelson & Bronte, a name Nelson assumed after the Battle of the Nile when he was granted a dukedom by the king of Naples, was donated to the Norfolk Nelson Museum in Great Yarmouth, England, by an anonymous benefactor. It will go on display in January 2009 in an exhibition about the admiral.
"I think this letter shows that Lord Nelson was a master of command and logistics," said museum curator Faith Carpenter. "Not only did he make tactical and strategic decisions of great importance, he cared about his men and made sure they were well provisioned."
Iwo Organization Revamps
The Combat Veterans of Iwo Jima have changed their name to open their doors to a larger membership and emphasize that the organization belongs to all who served at Iwo Jima
on the ground, air, and sea. To that end, the recently renamed Iwo Jima Association of America (IJAA) invites not only veterans of the battle to join, but also those who recognize the many sacrifices made by those veterans and desire to help perpetuate their memory ensuring that "long after the last Iwo Jima veteran has gone, future generations will remember Iwo Jima."IJAA, organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, will promote the historical and scholarly study of the Battle of Iwo Jima and help veterans, descendants of veterans, and the public learn and better understand the battle and its place in military history. Incorporated in the state of Virginia as a 501(c)(3) public charity, the association will fund, support, and sponsor activities to further its educational mandate such as symposia, lectures, tours, and gatherings of Iwo Jima veterans. The IJAA will host an educational and historical symposium in commemoration of the 64th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, 26 February to 1 March 2009, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
For more information on membership (annual dues are $25) or the 2009 symposium, visit the association's Web site at www.IwoJimaAssociation.org.
Ripley Crosses the BridgeThomas Ripley told a few little-known stories in the eulogy he delivered on 7 November 2008 at a memorial service for his father, Colonel John W. Ripley. In his brief remarks from the altar of the packed chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy that day, he captured the essence of the Marine hero who had died the week before at his home in Annapolis at age 69. His son recalled:While serving as the director of Marine Corps History and Museums, our father was contacted by a regimental staff officer in Iraq. His command post had been hit by a mortar round, and the regimental colors had blood on them and were burned in several spots. The officer's question was, "What do we do with these colors, and how do we get new ones?" Our father's response was classic John Ripley: "Nothing. They are called battle colors." John Ripley was many things to many people over the course of his life, but he will be forever known for his heroic single-handed destruction of a U.S.-made bridge at Dong Ha in the Vietnam War. This act, which by most estimates saved thousands of lives, earned him the Navy Cross. It was a display of courage memorialized in several media, most prominently by a diorama in an alcove of the hallowed Memorial Hall at the Naval Academy. The name Ripley will be forever connected with two words: "the bridge." Colonel Ripley was a long-time supporter of this magazine and its parent organization, the U.S. Naval Institute. In late 2006, when our Americans at War television project was germinating, his was one of the first stories we discussed for what has turned out to be a powerful collection of vignettes that highlight combat veterans in their own words.
Colonel Ripley's retelling of events in the Naval Institute's Americans at War Series His name has also appeared on our pages, most recently with his moving 65th anniversary tribute in the November 2008 issue of the Naval Institute's Proceedings to those who fought and died in the bloody World War II Battle of Tarawa. As we commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima in this issue, we thought it appropriate to quote from a letter Colonel Ripley wrote on 17 November 1987, which we published in full for the battle's 60th anniversary in the February 2005 Naval History. He wrote it in the middle of the night by flashlight from atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. It is a compelling plea to the American people, from one of this country's bravest Marines, to never forget what happened there in February 1945. It reads, in part: From this most unlikely spot I am inspired to write you for reasons I can't fully explain. Of the hundreds of thousands of words written about this place, nothing comes close to describing its starkness, its inestimable cost, and now, sadly, the poverty of its abandonment. The entire island is a shrine, mostly to Japanese but to a few Americans—only a few. Americans don't seem to care about such things when, as is the case here, it's inconvenient. And yet this island, its name, and most especially this very spot where I sit—where the flag was raised—are immortalized in our national consciousness for as long as there is an America. -Fred Schultz, Senior Editor |