Mick_Marsh
28th October 2014, 08:08 PM
A mate alerted me to this story:
Eric Geddes: Sole survivor of WWII RAAF aircrew wins fight to erase historic slur over Savo Island bloodbath - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-27/raaf-veteran-wins-fight-to-clear-crews-name/5844958)
On August 8, 1942 Mr Geddes and his crew spotted and reported a Japanese attack fleet heading towards the US Marines force that had just landed at Guadalcanal.
That night, the Japanese went on to rout Allied ships off Guadalcanal, sinking four cruisers, including the HMAS Canberra, killing more than 1,000 sailors.
The battle of Savo Island, as it became known, was the Allies' worst naval defeat of the war.
An influential US historian, writing after the war, falsely accused Mr Geddes and his crew of failing to promptly report their sighting.
Mr Geddes's long campaign to clear a slur against his air crew is finally over.
Eric Geddes: Sole survivor of WWII RAAF aircrew wins fight to erase historic slur over Savo Island bloodbath - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-27/raaf-veteran-wins-fight-to-clear-crews-name/5844958)
On August 8, 1942 Mr Geddes and his crew spotted and reported a Japanese attack fleet heading towards the US Marines force that had just landed at Guadalcanal.
That night, the Japanese went on to rout Allied ships off Guadalcanal, sinking four cruisers, including the HMAS Canberra, killing more than 1,000 sailors.
The battle of Savo Island, as it became known, was the Allies' worst naval defeat of the war.
An influential US historian, writing after the war, falsely accused Mr Geddes and his crew of failing to promptly report their sighting.
Mr Geddes's long campaign to clear a slur against his air crew is finally over.