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Charles B. McVay III (July 30, 1898 – November 6, 1968) was an American naval officer and the commanding officer of when it was lost in action in 1945, resulting in a massive loss of life. Of all captains in the history of the United States Navy, he is the only one to have been subjected to court-martial for losing a ship sunk by an act of war, despite the fact that he was on a top secret mission maintaining radio silence (the testimony of the Japanese commander who sank his ship also seemed to exonerate McVay).〔 After years of mental health problems, he committed suicide. Following years of efforts by some survivors and others to clear his name, McVay was posthumously exonerated by the 106th United States Congress and President Bill Clinton on October 30, 2000. In 1978, the events surrounding McVay's court-martial were dramatized in ''The Failure to ZigZag'' by playwright John B. Ferzacca. Actor Stacy Keach portrayed McVay in the 1991 made-for-television movie ''Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis'', which depicted the ordeal of the men of ''Indianapolis'' during her last voyage. ==Education and career== Charles Butler McVay III was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania on July 30, 1898 to a Navy family. His father, Charles Butler McVay Jr., who had commanded the tender during the cruise of the Great White Fleet (1907–1909), was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War I, and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Fleet the early 1930s. Charles III was a 1920 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Before taking command of ''Indianapolis'' in November 1944, McVay was chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee of the Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., the Allies' highest intelligence unit. Earlier in World War II, he was awarded the Silver Star for displaying courage under fire. McVay led the ship through the invasion of Iwo Jima, then the bombardment of Okinawa in the spring of 1945, during which ''Indianapolis'' anti-aircraft guns shot down seven enemy planes before the ship was struck by a kamikaze on March 31, inflicting heavy casualties, including 13 dead, and penetrating the ship's hull. McVay returned the ship safely to Mare Island in California for repairs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charles B. McVay III」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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