On the 19th of April in 1989 aboard the Battleship Iowa there was an explosion that claimed the lives of 47 people. In a routine practice of firing the 16 inch guns, one of the gun turrets, number two, exploded. Each turret consisted of three guns. The exact cause of the explosion will never be known due to the fact that noone lived who was inside the turret. The investigation revealed several discrepancies, all of which were all minor.
My father, Ronald Hale was aboard the Iowa when the explosion occurred. In this passage he describes his memory of the explosion and the events that followed for the next several days until the memorial service attended by President Bush was held.
Dan Hale
On the morning of April 19th, 1989 at approximately 1000 (10 a.m.), I heard a different kind of sound from the gun turrets and I felt the ship shudder. At the time I was back aft headed for my office to take care of some paperwork. Immediately my instincts were confirmed as the general alarm was sounded. I reacted by going to my GQ station which was repair locker 1A. So you know, the repair locker is located on the main deck in the after most section of the superstructure. Instinctively all persons donned their equipment to combat the fires. It was only a matter of seconds before all the equipment was brought forward towards the turret. From the time GQ sounded till the time the fires were extinguished, I don't remember details.
After a couple of hours, we were able to enter the turret and for the first time realize the extent of the damage and carnage. It took several more hours to make sure there were no more smaller fires and to ventilate the turret from the control room down to the powder flats. Because of the water used to put out the fires it now had to be removed. Dewatering was taking place at the same time the men inside the turret were being accounted for. Being the chief in charge of second division, I had to supply the manpower to augment the gunner's mates. In all I assigned 26 men to turret two. On this day, 17 of those men never made it out. In all there was 47 men who died that day. The men who made it out were very lucky to say the least. They were in a position to escape when they realized that there was a problem and before the fireball made its way down seven stories to the flats.
It was really strange how some of the men were burnt and others were not. The ones who were not burnt had every ounce of breath sucked out of them as the fireball consumed all available amount of air. The guys I really felt sorry for were the ones in the magazines. I don't believe the fire reached them, but the magazines were flooded as a precautionary measure. It was three in the morning the next day before the last body was removed.
During the event of the day, several of my shipmates as well as myself noticed a small plane circling overhead. This was the beginning of the media blitz. What noone needed was some reporter hounding them for a story. The navy did a pretty good job of keeping them at bay, but as usual it didn't stop the press from being over diligent. I have a sour taste for the media after the crash of the EA6B aboard the Nimitz and the onslaught after the downing of two Libyan migs. This displeasure with the press has turned to mistrust as the media has a tendency to distort and misquote. The press was kept at a distance during the memorial service and this allowed the crew and families to grieve as a unit.
Ronald Hale
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