The Sinking Of The USS Indianapolis AND The Extraordinary Story Of Its Survivors Critical Thinking Example

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

The story of the USS Indianapolis was quite controversial during the World War II and after its end. Many things were covered-up, and they remain hidden nowadays. According to MacMillan Dictionary, cover-up is “an attempt to stop people from discovering the truth about something, especially a crime or a serious mistake.” Cover-up and lack of information was the reason why the captain of Indianapolis McVay was accused of the sinking and committed suicide (Stanton, 2001). War is one big mess, where information gets lost and misinterpreted all the time. It is extremely hard to keep things in order in the state of war, so if I was a senior Navy officer, I cannot say for sure that I would have properly given the instructions to the junior officer. The fact that the senior officers refused to take responsibility and scapegoated McVay (Carpenter, 53) was a different thing. No chance was given to the latter when the court took place. McVay wasn’t given an experienced lawyer (purposely?), and he didn’t have enough time to prepare for the hearing (Stanton, 250). Everything seemed to be done to cover-up the senior officers. For the people who were familiar with the incident and present at the court, everything made a perfect sense. However, recently new information was revealed, and the case was reviewed. On one hand, military cover-up during the World War II can be explained: people were in panic and despair, and providing them with many details couldn’t make it any easier. The heads had to make sure the citizens knew as little as possible. On the other hand, due to lack of information, a person who wasn’t responsible for hundreds of lives committed suicide. Cover-up has always been there during the wars. To me, the balance could be achieved if the truth was revealed when it came to human lives. The majority is not interested in the government’s military secrets. But I am sure that the family of McVay was hugely affected by the unjust incident, and for them, the truth mattered. However, it was too late for them when it was revealed. Not too late for us though, as we can learn from our past.

References

Stanton, D. (2001). In harm's way: The sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the extraordinary story of its survivors.
Carpenter, E. (2005). Book review. IN HARM’S WAY: THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ITS SURVIVORS. The Army Lawyer.
Cover-up definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/cover-up_2
USS Indianapolis CA-35. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2016, from http://www.ussindianapolis.org/story.htm