The father of a naval gunner who had been blamed for the explosion aboard the battleship USS Iowa says he is pleased with the Navy's apology for wrongly accusing Clayton Hartwig.
Earl Hartwig said Thursday he never doubted his son was innocent in causing the explosion, which ripped through the No. 2 turret of the USS Iowa in 1989, killing 47 sailors, including 24-year-old Clayton."An apology makes us real happy. If anybody was put through what we've been through the last two and a half years - of having a member of the family blamed for something he didn't do, and we know he didn't do it - we're hoping to clear that up so everybody knows Clay was not guilty of anything," said Earl Hartwig.
Adm. Douglas Katz visited the Cleveland home of Earl and Evelyn Hartwig Thursday to deliver the apology, which the Navy said will then close the books on the blast's cause. Katz had told the Hartwigs that the Navy had determined sabotage caused the explosion and their son, a gunner's mate 2nd class, was "most probably" to blame.
Hartwig's sister, Kathy Kubicina, said she was glad the ordeal was over. But she expressed bitterness over the Navy's handling of the incident from the beginning.
"As far as my family, we've been in limbo," Kubicina said. "I mean we've lived with this on a daily basis. We have maintained that, as we have since the beginning, that of course my brother was innocent and I think this apology will really, really help put the issue to rest. Especially for my mom and dad."
The Navy said it would conclude it has no definitive way of knowing why the center gun in the turret of three 16-inch guns exploded during firing exercises.
Hartwig said he was not sure what caused the Navy to re-examine the case.
"Well, I don't know if we convinced them, or the media with public pressure convinced them that they better go back and take another look at this situation and come up with the proper answers," he said.