The Nation - News from June 30, 1989

Navy investigators probing the turret explosion aboard the battleship Iowa have apologized to a seaman for a news release that falsely implicated him in the disaster that killed 47 seamen, an attorney said. Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Kendall L. Truitt, 21, received the apology Wednesday from two Naval Investigative Service agents for a news leak that suggested Truitt was linked to the April 19 explosion, said Miami attorney Ellis Rubin. In a related development, ABC News reported that the NIS admitted that much of the information it leaked to reporters was false. Navy officials said they could not comment on the ABC report. “We now demand that the Navy officially clear Mr. Truitt and tell the public that he is not a homosexual nor was he involved in any murder-suicide pact that resulted in the explosion,” Rubin said.