A small number of the crew were killed and entombed in the ship. Only one dead sailor who's body is not recovered from a sunken ship makes it a "War Grave". Part of international agreements. It's a federal crime to tamper with a War Grave.
BOYS!!! No bickering! I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
First we'll need to form a committee to study the effects of removing 1/4 rivet # 54,677 and the possible impact it will have on rivets # 54,676 and 54,678 with a sub committee to study the effects on the other 3/4 of rivet 54,677. We'll also have to elect someone to chair a panel to study how rivets 55,668, 55,669 and 66,275 might be impacted along with panel # 7435.
LOTS of discussion amongst navalists, of course. Two friends who worked with Ballard have intriguing comments. Nobody's seen a large USN ship so thoroughly broken up, a real surprise. One theory is implosion because Lex sank with many compartments intact. As for the Fox-5 Wildcat, John Lundstrom's da man, check his First Team Vol. I. F-5 was sometimes flown by Lt Noel Gayler (normally F-13), and the victory markings (plus one bomb) seem to reflect that record.
It could also be the fact that some sections of ship were flooded (enough to entire ship negatively buoyant) but parts that were not flooded were still buoyant enough to cause "hogging" of the ship structure on its long journey to the bottom. Stresses could have exceeded all design parameters since they are not built to "sink" but to float in all kinds of seas.
That's easy.
If they're your ancestors, it's a grave site: if they're some other culture's ancestors, doesn't matter how long it's been, it's archeological.
Cheers,
Wes
That's easy.
If they're your ancestors, it's a grave site: if they're some other culture's ancestors, doesn't matter how long it's been, it's archeological.
Cheers,
Wes
Good question, and I'm not sure there's a definitive answer. From personal and secondary knowledge, the most likely answer is: IT DEPENDS. Courts are seldom consistent in their findings (hence the appeal process) and that applies to admiralty law as well. In Lex's case, the remote locale and depth are likely to ensure that she remains largely untouched indefinitely.