Family, Friends of Crew Watch in Silence as Iowa Returns to Port

The scarred battleship Iowa made a somber return Sunday to its home port, where about 3,000 family members and friends of the crew welcomed loved ones who escaped an explosion that killed 47 sailors.

Sailors in whites with black arm bands lined the rails as the huge vessel docked at the Norfolk Naval Base’s Pier 5. Twenty minutes later, families started filing aboard the ship, exchanging tearful embraces with the returning sailors.

The explosion Wednesday flashed through the Iowa’s No. 2 gun turret, which extends six decks down into the ship. There were 11 survivors inside the turret, all on the lowest deck where they were loading powder from the ship’s magazines, the Navy said.

Crewmen Stand on Turret

Two of the surviving crewmen of No. 2 turret stood on top of the fire-blackened turret as the ship pulled into the pier, with full crews on the ship’s two other turrets.

When the vessel first appeared there were scattered cheers among those on the dock, but all remained silent as the ship pulled into the pier.

Adm. Powell F. Carter, commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, was there to greet the vessel. As the ship docked, three Marines raised a flag to half-staff at the stern.

The Navy kept the news media about 300 yards from the families, and reporters were not allowed to talk with the families or crewmen.

The violence and power of the turret explosion was shown in an amateur videotape released by the Navy on Sunday. The tape was made by an officer on the bridge of the Iowa who wanted to record the firing of the big guns.

Jet of Intense Fire

The detonation, which appears to blast away the gasket-like rubber “bloomers” that seal the turret’s gun slits, is followed by a jet of intense fire and thick smoke from the front and base of the gunhouse.

The videotape cut immediately to damage-control firefighters spraying heavy streams of water onto the turret.

Churches throughout the area dedicated prayers Sunday morning to the families of Iowa crewmen.

“We have lost 47 of our number in a tragic way,” said Cmdr. John L. Fitzgerald, a chaplain, in a service at the Norfolk Naval Air Station. “Our faith helps us to handle what science cannot answer, the mystery of death.”

A red rose, a yellow ribbon with the number 47 on it and a book containing the names of the dead were taken to the altar.

This morning, President Bush will lead a memorial service in a base hangar that can accommodate 3,000 people. The families of the victims were invited, but Navy officials said they did not know how many would attend.

The explosion occurred during exercises off Puerto Rico. The Pentagon said it happened before the middle 16-inch gun of the three-gun turret had been fired. The guns, the largest on any ship at sea, use six 110-pound bags of black powder to fire a 2,700-pound projectile up to 23 miles.

Recommissioned by Reagan

The Iowa and its sister ships, the Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin, were commissioned during World War II and mothballed after the Korean War. They were recommissioned during the Ronald Reagan Administration.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said Sunday that he believes the four battleships still “have merit” as weapons in the U.S. arsenal and have a future in the modern Navy. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Cheney called the ships “one way to supplement” the usefulness of carrier battle groups “in terms of a show of force and showing the flag.”

“They are effective,” he said. “They were relatively cheap to bring back into service compared to new ships; they’re good cruise missile platforms, so I do think they have a role to play. The question is how you do that and how you pay for it.”