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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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061289
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06128900.025
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1990-09-22
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19 lines
NATION, Page 23American NotesTHE NAVYAt Ease, Mr. Truitt
In the wake of the gun-turret explosion on the U.S.S. Iowa that
in April killed 47 sailors, the Naval Investigative Service
considered a bizarre theory: that Navy petty officer Kendall Truitt
may have set off the explosion to collect on a $100,000 insurance
policy taken out by a sailor killed in the blast. The story was
guaranteed a full airing when Pentagon sources privately confirmed
the investigation to the press.
Truitt angrily denied the allegation, suggesting that the fault
could lie with an inexperienced crew. Last week a Navy statement
seemed to clear Truitt. Investigators are now focusing on the
equally bizarre theory that Clayton Hartwig, the insured sailor,
committed suicide by causing the explosion with a $15 timing
device. The Navy blandly insisted that no apology was due Truitt
because it had not "discussed publicly" the murder-suicide
theories.