Jeremiah Smith: “in his letter, Hashimoto confirmed his court-martial testimony by stating that he could have sunk the Indianapolis…”

“in his letter, Hashimoto confirmed his court-martial testimony by stating that he could have sunk the Indianapolis whether it had zigzagged or not. Then he went on to say: Our peoples have forgiven each other for that terrible war and its consequences. Perhaps it is time that your people (to) forgave Captain McVay for the humiliation of his unjust conviction. That came from the man who sank McVay's ship. He was a dedicated, committed Japanese officer who, if you read Mr. Kurzman's book, was glad at the time he sank the ship and, in fact, was looking for a ship to sink. Hashimoto attended that court-martial. In the English translation of a recent interview Hashimoto gave to a Japanese journalist, here are some excerpts about the court-martial of McVay: I wonder (if) the outcome of that court-martial was set from the beginning. . .because at the time of the court-martial, I had a feeling it was contrived. . . . That came from Hashimoto. There are other comments Hashimoto makes, Mr. President. There is one direct quote I want to give from his interview: I understand English a little bit even then, so I could see at the time I testified that the translator did not tell fully what I said. I mean it was not because of the capacity of the translator. I would say the Navy side did not accept some testimony that were inconvenient to them. As I conclude, I repeat, I love the Navy. I served the Navy in Vietnam, and I would do it again.…”