Andre Carson: “I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of Representatives a decision by the Department of the Navy that…”

“I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of Representatives a decision by the Department of the Navy that exonerates the late Charles Butler McVay III, captain of the heavy cruiser, the USS Indianapolis who was court-martialed and convicted 56 years ago after his ship sank in the closing days of World War II. The survivors of that tragedy, Mr. Speaker, have relentlessly sought to have Captain McVay vindicated; and those who remain are relieved by the Navy's long-delayed yet justifiable decision. On May 14, 1999, I ushered an 11-year-old student from Florida to drop H.J. Res. 48 into the system for consideration by the House. Hunter Scott went to a movie in Pensacola, Florida, and saw Jaws, in which there was a brief soliloquy about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Hunter's interest in the ship's disaster was the beginning of a school history project, trips to Washington, D.C., media attention, and an upcoming movie. Language to exonerate Captain McVay was inserted in the Defense Authorization Act of 2001.”