The information coming out about the collision of our battleship the USS Fitzgerald, and the cargo/container ship the Crystal seems to be pretty scant, except to tell us about the finding and retrieval of the seven dead sailors. Some of the online articles seem to indicate that the Crystal might have been broadsided on purpose because the cargo ship was apparently running with their lights off and no transponder. This could man that the Navy battleship had no knowledge that there was another huge ship coming at them until it actually struck the Fitzgerald. It seems unlikely that the whole night crew was so distracted that they were oblivious that another ship was coming towards them, unless that ship was basically running invisible to the radar. It is also possible that the cargo ship was smuggling drugs or something similar, and didn't mean to run into the Fitzgerald; but it seems more likely that the ramming was done intentionally. http://www.americanthinker.com/blog...rald_story_we_are_getting_from_the_media.html
Sorry to correct you, but it was a guided missile destroyer. I was on one similar to it when I was in the Navy during Nam. Actually, I wondering how this happened also. To this point, nobody is saying anything.
outstanding job by damage control to keep it afloat. 7 dead all recovered. almost looks like a T bone The deceased are: - Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia - Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California - Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut - Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas - Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California - Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland - Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio
First one (1968): USS Robison DDG12. After that one, to USS Hollister DD788 and then the USS Henderson DD785
I've read so many views on this and it's hard to tell what really happened, I think it's way to early in the investigation. Planes collide sometimes in the air and planes can move more quickly to get out of the way than a Huge Ship can. Too bad that so many young men lost their lives though.
Thank you for the information, @Cody Fousnaugh ! I did read that it was there to help protect against North Korea firing missles , and I see now that it calls the ship a Destroyer; but not having ever been in the Navy, a ship is a ship to me. I agree with you @Chrissy Cross that there seems to be conflicting stores on what happened, and not much actual information released. The first news reports made it sound like our ship was the one which caused the collision, and that is obviously NOT the case here. It seems like when we get several conflicting reports, then it eventually turns out to be some kind of faked news, since all of the reports can't be right. It just takes a while before we learn what really caused the collision, and whether it was intentional or not. Here is a short video that also adds a bit more information about the crash.
I spent just under 2 years on the Newport news, CA-148 then transferred to an AE, Vesuvius the rest of my hitch. looks like we were in the same club. the tonkin gulf yacht club http://jerryjagger.tripod.com/tgyc.html
Yep. My ship was on the "gun line" there and when we weren't there, we were "plane guarding" for the carrier Kitty Hawk. All of those old ships in the 7th Fleet are retired/mothballed now.
there's always a rush to judgement and fix blame. the container ship was operating under charter to a Japanese shipping company. “The ACX Crystal container ship is chartered by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and owned by Dainichi-Invest Corporation. let's see what the investigation reveals
I did read in a news article that the Japanese ship was headed somewhere and then 25 minutes before the "accident" it abruptly made a U-Turn. That I do find strange.
I have read so many different versions of what happened depending on what site you are on. In my opinion it's too early to know and I don't feel we should be pointing fingers until at least there's an official announcement. It's the families of the deceased young men I'm thinking about...I'd hate to be one of them and reading all sorts of different scenarios on the internet. This barely just happened... Even in the comments section, the replies vary even from people who are in the Navy and know somewhat what they are talking about.
I'm afraid there is no way we can stop these families from reading or hearing all these different scenarios Chrissy...the news media is having a field day with this...and we can't stop them. Our discussing what really happened on this Forum is not asking any questions their families are probably asking too. Their families will eventually receive a letter, etc. giving the government's official declaration of what happened whether it is the truth or not. While I am sad this happened and sad for the men that lost their lives...there is nothing wrong with our discussing what may or may not have happened.