HONOLULU — As the Navy prepared to convene a rare court of inquiry into the collision between a nuclear attack submarine and a Japanese fishing boat, the families of some of the nine men and boys lost at sea gathered Sunday to bid farewell to their loved ones.
Relatives of five of the victims cried and clasped leis as a native Hawaiian group offered traditional prayers and songs during an oceanside memorial.
One mother sobbed, clutching a handkerchief, as a ukulele player strummed a melody written in remembrance of the missing.
Family members later sailed to the scene of the accident to scatter flowers across the waters.
Hirohisa Ishibashi, mayor of Uwajima, the boat's hometown, said when he first got word of the Feb. 9 accident, "I wished so hard that it was a bad dream."
"We really need to be told what happened in the submarine," he said. "We have to do everything we can to prevent anything like this from happening again."
Today, family members are expected to attend a formal investigative hearing by the Navy that seeks to explain why the USS Greeneville rammed the Ehime Maru while demonstrating an emergency surfacing maneuver for 16 civilian guests.
The ship, carrying 35 people, was on an expedition to teach teen-agers how to become commercial fishermen when the Greeneville plowed through its hull. Four high school students, two teachers and three crewmen never were found.
The hearing will examine the actions of the Greeneville's top officers: Cmdr. Scott Waddle, his second-in-command, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer, and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael Coen.
Waddle's attorney, Charles Gittins, told ABC's "This Week" news show on Sunday that as the Greeneville's skipper, the commander is "personally responsible for the accident."
"I am sure that the evidence is going to show that there was a chain of mistakes and, quite possibly, Cmdr. Waddle did not see this vessel and that was one of the chain of mistakes that caused the accident," Gittins said. "That doesn't mean that those people who made those honest mistakes should ultimately be prosecuted criminally."
Three Navy admirals will preside over the court and recommend whether the officers should face disciplinary action ranging from a reprimand to court-martial. Their findings will be forwarded to Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, for final action.
The admirals also could suggest changes to Navy policies on civilian participation in military operations.
A Japanese maritime official was named an adviser to the court but is not allowed to vote on any recommendations. The hearing was expected to last at least a week.
The court of inquiry, the Navy's highest form of administrative investigation, is "how we get lessons learned," said Eugene Fidell, head of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C.
"It's to have an exhaustive look at the matter, not only from the standpoint of potentially assigning responsibility but finding out what happened and making recommendations of a systemic nature so that it doesn't happen again," Fidell said.
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