Good find. "The US Navy has confirmed a wreck found on the bottom of the Java Sea is the USS Houston, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese in World War Two. The wreck is the final resting place of as many as 700 US sailors and marines, the Navy said. US and Indonesian divers discovered evidence that pieces of the hull and unexploded ordnance had been removed. The site is a popular underwater dive spot, and officials are co-ordinating its conservation. "In my discussions with our Indonesian navy partners, they share our sense of obligation to protect this and other gravesites," Adm Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement. The Houston, nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast", sank during the Battle of Sunda Strait on 28 February 1942. Its commanding officer, Capt Albert Rooks, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest US military decoration, for extraordinary heroism during the battle. All 1,068 sailors and marines on board were presumed dead after the sinking. But when the war ended in 1945, 291 sailors and marines who survived the sinking and three years in prisoner of war camps were repatriated to the US." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28857195
A sunken vessel in the Java Sea has been confirmed as the wreck of the USS Houston, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese during a ferocious Second World War battle. It serves as the final resting place for about 700 sailors and Marines. The wreck has long been a popular recreational diving site, but has been confirmed by US and Indonesian Navy divers as being the remains of the Houston, nicknamed The Galloping Ghost Of The Java Coast. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2728423/Sunken-vessel-World-War-II-era-USS-Houston.html#ixzz3Asup9dX6 Firepower: President Franklin Roosevelt under the big guns of the USS Houston in 1938
You beat me to it. I was just copying the article. Here's the one I read from the AP: Navy divers from the U.S. and Indonesia confirmed that a sunken vessel in the Java Sea is the World War II wreck of the USS Houston, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese that serves as the final resting place for about 700 sailors and Marines, officials announced Monday. The Japanese sank the Houston during the Battle of Sunda Strait on Feb. 28, 1942. The ship carried 1,068 crewmen, but only 291 sailors and Marines survived both the attack and being prisoners of war. The Houston's commanding officer, Capt. Albert H. Rooks, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Harry Harris said Monday that divers have documented evidence the watery gravesite has been disturbed. Assessments conducted in June to determine the condition of the Houston found that hull rivets, a metal plate and unexploded ordnance were removed from the ship. There is also oil actively seeping from the hull. Officials are working on measures to keep the site from further disturbance. "In my discussions with our Indonesian navy partners, they share our sense of obligation to protect this and other gravesites," Harris said in a statement. "Surveying the site, of course was only the first step in partnering to respect those sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the freedoms and security that we richly enjoy today." The Navy History and Heritage Command concluded that all of the recorded data is consistent with the identification of the former USS Houston. The Houston was nicknamed the "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast." Resting off the west coast of Java, Indonesia, the ship, which remains sovereign property of the United States, is a popular recreational dive site, the Navy said. The Navy estimates there are more than 17,000 sunken ships and aircraft resting on the ocean floor worldwide. http://www.theintell.com/news/national/sunken-vessel-is-world-war-ii-era-uss-houston/article_329a819c-68b3-5f41-9a0c-4d824109ece0.html
Seriously??? Did they forget what ocean it sank in? Or s the US Navy that desperate to make "positive" headlines? The wreck of the USS Houston was found way back in the 1970's and with the wreck of the HMAS Perth(found in '67) has long since been a popular dive site. But hey, all those hundreds, maybe thousands of other divers were not "officially" from the US Navy. Regretfully, I must say poor find. ADDITION: Seems that the "real" news is a lot more mundane. As per this official press release from June 6, 2014. http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=81475 Kudos to the Associated Press for fumbling yet another "story".
Rather spooky as I am currently reading The Last Battle Station which is about the USS Houston and her loss.
