Ceremony marks 35th anniversary of deadly explosion of USS Iowa
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — It has been 35 years since the explosion on the then-Norfolk-based USS Iowa that killed 47 sailors.
The Iowa had been preparing for exercises off the coast of Puerto Rico when a gun turret on the battleship exploded on April 19, 1989, which remains one of the deadliest days in Navy history, outside of wartime.
Previously: Monday marks 32 years since USS Iowa explosion that killed 47 sailors
Previously: Ceremony marks 30th anniversary of deadly USS Iowa explosion
Friday morning, there will be a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk to remember the people who died on the USS Iowa.
Restored gun barrel from USS Iowa moving to JEB Fort Story May 23
The Iowa, which is designated as the “World’s Greatest Naval Ship,” was built in New York and commissioned in February 1943 at the height of World War II. It was decommissioned in October 1990 and is now a floating museum in California.
Gun turret number two, a 16-inch weapon of war, exploded in the Caribbean Sea. There were two main investigations to find a cause. The Navy pointed a finger at a crew member — an alleged suicidal sailor who had a grudge after a failed relationship.
Unhappy with that finding, family and lawmakers pushed the Government Accountability Office to review.
It found the cause was likely bags of powder loaded too quickly into the gun, causing them to ignite — a process called overramming.
The Navy disagreed, and officially ruled it undetermined.
The cause doesn’t take away the impact of 47 men who died that day. Each year, we remember those sailors, many of them trapped inside the gun turret when it exploded. The tragedy impacted fellow sailors and family members.
“That first initial shock that my shipmates — something happened to my shipmates,” said USS Iowa sailor Phillip David Harrison. “Then the reports came out. It was turret two, and my heart just dropped.”
The sister of a USS Iowa sailor, Paula Schwarz, shared her memory of her last moments with her brother.
“I remember that when he left that Sunday, the last thing I did was grab him and hug him, and say ‘I love you, kiddo,'” Schwarz said. “And that always comes to mind. He was a great guy.”
There’s a special bond among the survivors and their families, a fraternity that grew out of one of America’s worst peacetime military tragedies.
“I feel blessed,” Schwarz said. “I love seeing my Iowa family. I lost a brother, but gained so many. I gained a lot of sisters too.”
Said Harrison: “For the shipmates that couldn’t make it here, we’re here if you need us, [if] you need to talk. A lot of guys are suffering from PTSD and they’re suffering from survivor’s remorse and stuff. We just want to let them know that we’re here
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