The Circle (66 page)

Now, Captain, in your opinion, would an initial course and speed to station of one-three-zero at twenty-seven knots be reasonable or unreasonable, considering the conditions given?

A
. Reasonable.

Q
. Tactically sound?

A
. Yes.

Q
. I show you now this maneuvering board. Assume the commanding officer proceeded on course one-three-zero till he reached a position where the guide bore zero-six-zero true, range a little over 3,000 yards, and the guide had nearly completed her right turn from zero-one-zero around to two-six-zero. If, under these circumstances, he ordered left rudder until the course was zero-nine-zero, and when he had reached that course continued down the port side of the carrier, intending to later put his rudder hard right, coming to the recovery course and reaching his station by a hard turn, in your opinion would this intention be reasonable or unreasonable considering the conditions existing?

RADM HOELSCHER
: I had better object here. The lieutenant is injecting suppositions into his question that have not come out in evidence. Specifically, you say that there was an intention to turn left to zero-nine-zero when the bearing was zero-six-zero; but the statement on this point, from the ensign, was that the commanding officer of
RYAN
intended to stay on one-three-zero and not modify course until he was past
KENNEDY
's stern.

COUNSEL FOR CDR PACKER
: In answer to that objection, the diagram you yourself gave the court, sir, shows that
RYAN
did in fact change course at this point [indicating] where the carrier was at zero-six-zero true. It seems to me that an intention can be proven by the act, even if it was not expressed aloud.

RADM HOELSCHER
: I object to this process of feeding Captain Piasecki selected facts and then citing his conclusions, as I expect Mr. Hauck here will do, as proof Packer's decisions were right.

THE COURT
: Is this an allowable procedure, Lieutenant Commander Johnstone?

COUNSEL FOR THE COURT
: It is my understanding that an expert witness may be asked a hypothetical question provided it is based on the evidence or on reasonable inferences drawn therefrom.

THE COURT
: The objection is not sustained. Proceed.

COUNSEL FOR CDR PACKER
: Let the clerk read back the question.

The question was repeated.

WITNESS
: It would be risky but acceptable.

Q
. Would such a maneuver be good professional practice?

A
. Yes. It's a fast, smart way to drive a ship.

Q
. Which was what his orders required. Now, assuming that the commanding officer is carrying out the maneuver as described, passing the carrier at a minimum acceptable distance in order to reach station quickly, and then, at approximately this point [indicating] receives a message that tells him that she has altered course 10 degrees toward his intended track—as a “mike corpen” signal actually means—would such a signal cause uncertainty in his mind?

A
. It would.

Q
. Assuming him to be momentarily uncertain under these conditions—leaving aside any question of fatigue or sickness—and that he observed himself to be on the carrier's starboard bow at a short and closing range, and that the rudder was at that time at or close to rudder amidships and the ship steadied up; if, as I say, he saw himself on the carrier's starboard bow, would you consider such action reasonable?

A
. Under those circumstances, eminently; that would be the only way to escape.

CAPT JAVITS, A PARTY
: I object to this misstatement of the evidence. It is clear that
RYAN
was not on
KENNEDY
's starboard bow when this left rudder order was given but, rather, to port. Only when the turn to launch course commenced was it on the starboard quarter, and then at a distance of 3,000 yards.

RADM HOELSCHER
: I join in that objection.

THE COURT
: Once again, a court of inquiry is not bound by strict evidential procedure. Counsel representing
RYAN
has been asking hypothetical questions. The Court does not sustain, but will expect counsel to show relevance.

COUNSEL FOR CDR PACKER
: Thank you, sir, I will at this time. Now, Captain Piasecki, you will note from the diagram that when
RYAN
was approaching the position where she turned left
KENNEDY
's track shows a waver to the left, as if she began to turn to two-five-zero. By your eye, what is the angle between her bow and
RYAN
at that moment?

A
. In the neighborhood of 10 degrees, roughly.

Q
. Captain, recall that shortly after you took the stand I asked you whether the angle on the bow of a carrier could be accurately estimated at night. You replied, and I quote, “That would depend on what angle was showing. For example, if it was bow-on, that would not be hard. For 10 or 20 degrees aspect, it could be tough.” Based on his having been informed that
KENNEDY
was actually on two-five-zero, would it not be easy for the destroyer's commanding officer to conclude he was on the carrier's starboard bow, and that he had to turn left to avoid her?

A
. I suppose so. But he was wrong.

Q
. Surely; but why? Gratuitous error? Or because of poor lighting on the carrier and a misleading signal?

A
. I would say the latter.

Q
. Thank you, sir.

Cross-examined by counsel for the Court.

Q
. Captain, don't you think that if the man described in Lieutenant Hauck's imaginary scenario was confused, he should have sounded whistle signals, or called the carrier to ask his intentions?

A
. Assuming that he had time to do so, yes.

Cross-examined by Captain Javits, a party.

Q
. Sir, you have agreed that there were things the captain of the destroyer could have done to let the carrier know he was uncertain or felt he was in danger. If he had not done any of these, would there have been anything in the actions of his ship that would have led the carrier to think anything was wrong?

A
. Negative.

Cross-examined by Rear Admiral Hoelscher, a party.

Q
. Captain, I must question your statement that it is impossible to determine a carrier's target angle at night within 20 degrees. That's hard to swallow.

A
. I did not say it was impossible, but that it was difficult. It can be done with practice—observing the individual lights, the silhouette, over a period of days. In the daytime, it's possible to tell how a carrier is pointing and turning by her list. But for a captain who had just joined, it would definitely be difficult. I stand by that answer.

None of the counsels or parties had further questions of the witness.

Examined by the Court.

Q
. Captain, as a result of what you have learned about this collision, as well as your extensive experience, do you have any suggestions or recommendations to read into this testimony?

A
. Well, sir, this issue of taking plane guard during a course change has been around a while. Not only do people get confused, you have the possibility of a steering casualty or a loss of power. I have recommended in years past that at night and in fog or rain we should put plane guards on station before turning into the wind. Some commanders do that and some don't. I think it should be made mandatory. It may take a few minutes more, but we should eat those minutes in the interests of safety.

THE COURT
: We will consider this recommendation in our final report.

The witness was duly warned and withdrew.

*   *   *

A witness called by counsel representing Commander Packer entered, was duly sworn, and was informed of the subject matter of the inquiry.

Examined by counsel for Commander Packer.

Q
. State your name, occupation, and permanent address.

A
. Burford Packer, retired projectionist, 1113 Preuss Avenue, Los Angeles.

Q
. Mr. Packer, will you inform the court of the nautical experience of your son, other than that performed in the U.S. Navy?

A
. Jimmy left home early, sir. Before he joined the Navy, he was a crewman on the
ORIENT HONOLULU
out of San Francisco, with the Bear Line. He made several cruises with her and ended up as third mate. He was studying for his master's ticket when he decided to try for the Navy. He was only twenty-one then.

Q
. Do you know whether your son could swim?

A
. They made him swim some at school back east. He wrote his ma he couldn't get the hang of it. Come to it too late, I guess.

Neither the counsel for the Court, the Court, nor the parties desired further to examine this witness.

The Court then, at 1647, adjourned until 0830 the next day, the fourth day of the inquiry.

26

WHEN the Court sat the survivors settled with a collective sigh and rustle. The members slid tablets in front of them. One cleared his throat. Another leaned back, his expression inscrutable as a heron's. The court reporter turned a pencil in a hand sharpener.

The witness entered from the corridor, a guard flanking him. As they came up the aisle, the marine dropped back and he walked the last few feet to the stand alone, his gait rolling, a sailor home from the sea.

“You are called here to give material evidence in the matter of the recent collision between USS
Reynolds Ryan
and USS
Kennedy.
Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do.”

The man in the chair was familiar. Medium height. Heavy shoulders. Slow big hands working at a heat-darkened pipe.

“State your name, rank, branch of service, and present duty station.”

The witness turned to the onlookers, the pipe jutting above a hard, tanned jaw.

“My name is James Packer, U.S. Navy, captain of USS
Reynolds Ryan.
”

*   *   *

LENSON came awake suddenly in the darkened room. His sheets were damp with sweat. Beside him his wife slept, her breath soft on his shoulder. Warm air hissed through ventilators, a shiplike sound, comforting.

He lay motionless, retracing his dreams. They'd been more vivid, more real than this anonymously comfortable room.

He'd wandered across a wasteland with a party of pilgrims, and bowed, hands together, before a shriveled elder with agate eyes and yellowing beard. The ancient face was familiar. With no sense of surprise, he recognized it as his own. Then they were together on the bridge of a ship, sliding outward over a sea hot and clear and flat as a melt of flint glass.

But somehow the voyage had ended in the wasteland again. Dark faces crowded round where he lay staked to the sand. Something he wasn't supposed to tell. Under him the desert burned, and a hand set live coals to smolder on his chest and arm.

“So. Who was this trusting lamb?”

“I can't tell you that, sir.”

“This here's the real world, boy. We all have to bend a little once in a while.”

Then suddenly the stuffy room where men sat like Osiris in judgment on the dead. He'd read that in one of Susan's books. From those dead, the captain had returned, and he'd laughed in relief—

He turned impatiently yet carefully, tossing back the sheets. The only thread stitching his dreams was heat. He thought of adjusting the thermostat, but Susan liked it warm. He had no idea what time it was. The sky beyond the window was black.

He frowned. Not completely black. Distant, but clear, several small lights glimmered white and red and green—

The towering silhouette of an aircraft carrier condensed silently and tremendously out of the dark. The creaming hiss of the bow wave stopped his heart. No, he thought. Not again! Sweat stung his face. He stared up helplessly as his fingers clamped on the steel splinter shield.

At last the dream, or vision, faded, leaving him rigid and trembling. The North Atlantic, the cries of burning men became grieving ghosts in the wind, then merged again with the seamless hiss. You're safe, he told vengeful memory. You're alive and Betts is here and the worst that can happen is prison. No, being honest with himself, that wasn't likely, either. They'd take his inexperience into account. He'd be assigned an office somewhere, issued a typewriter and paper, and left alone till he got around to his letter of resignation.

He sweated like an iceberg in the sun, staring into the hissing dark. The Navy had been all he'd wanted for so long, he couldn't imagine himself outside it.

The inquiry couldn't last much longer. They'd gone through
Ryan
's dying moments again and again; had seen it through his eyes, Silver's, Bryce's, Traven's, Reed's, Lassard's. Johnstone kept things moving. He broke each witness's pride and made him admit error. The counsel for the court had grilled Hoelscher and Javits as hard as anyone from
Ryan.
So far as Dan could tell, he had no partiality. But the scales were weighted against Packer.

Dan saw again the steady, passionless, attentive faces of admirals. Their judges said little. Only the senior member, Ausura, put an occasional question. Only at the end would they pronounce. First they listened.

Listened to Bryce, and Lassard, and the others who lied.…

But he couldn't prove they lied.

He was the only one left who was telling the truth. The only one Bryce had not somehow suborned or intimidated.

But he couldn't prove it.