European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday August 28, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 Navy wants to keep Iowa blast hero Sailor s woes under review by the Baltimore Sun Norfolk a. The Navy court Martiale John Mullahy busted him two ranks put him in the Brig and was ready to show him the door when the gun Turret on the battleship Iowa exploded. The Sailor s cools Cadd heroism in the fiery bowels of the Turret april 19 rescued three shipmates and narrowly saved the ship from even More disastrous explosions. Now the Navy is having second thoughts. The serv ice has squirmed Over what to do because of his Back ground he was yanked off a press conference when the damaged Iowa returned to port. But when officers started looking More closely at his Case they concluded he May have got a raw Deal. Though they Are unwilling to say so publicly the Navy is tacitly acknowledging its mistakes by trying to reverse them. They Are reviewing his court martial. They have moved to waive a debt they now acknowledge was not his fault. They have assigned two lawyers to help straighten out his civil divorce. They have promoted him on orders from the Pentagon. Yes we want to keep him said it. Cmdr. Steve Burnett who has been involved with his Case Here. He is a Good performer. The fact that he was a heroin the Iowa shows he s of Benefit to the  Petty officer Mullahy is optimistic about this turn of events. But he said it s sad that the Only reason they May be looking at my Case is because of that explosion and what i  the 35-year-old Sailor was moving ammunition in Magazine six decks below the Center gun of the Iowa when its powder exploded while on a practice run in the Atlantic. Forty seven sailors on the decks above him died. While others in his Magazine scrambled for safely Mullahy opened hatches to release three men trapped in a Smoky compartment and checked for other survivors in the blazing powder room. According to a report on his actions he then groped and crawled through smoke to activate the sprinklers and flood the powder room apparently drowning flames that had started to envelop More Gunpowder charges. Ironically he should not have been there Mullahy notes. Because he had just been released from the Brig he should not have been certified to handle munitions he said. Navy investigators examining the still unexplained cause of the blast reportedly Nave found lax Observance of such certification rules on the Iowa. But the Admiral later said thank god you were in there " Mullahy said. Munitions were Mullahy s area of expertise. During his 18 years in the Navy he had had advanced training in explosives and More experience than any of the other younger sailors on his gun Crew. He had served on a half dozen ships and in Viet Nam Lebanon the Philippines and 30 other countries. In the Philippines he grabbed a live grenade deliberately dropped into a jeep and held the handle closed until it could be disabled. The problems for this gregarious round faced irishman from Boston began with his first wife. Mar ried in 1980, she walked out of their marriage two years later while he was stationed on the aircraft car Rier Forrestal. She divorced him in Illinois in 1982, apparently telling the court that she did not know where he was. Mullahy did not know of the divorce. He said that he had repeatedly asked the Navy to Stop paying him the extra housing allowance Given to married men because his wife had left him. But he was told by a variety of officers that the allowance  be stopped unless the Navy was shown a divorce decree he said. That dilemma would Cost him dearly. In 1986, he was stationed at Cartagena Spain a Spanish military base with a 73-acre . Munitions dump run by Only four americans. He said that he ran afoul of his Superior . Patricia b. Rios when he refused follow her order to paint Over the warning signs on dangerous explosive Sand move them in his own car without a Highway escort which is in violation of military and Spanish rules. Rios told him he was not a team player he said. After he had Learned of his divorce in 1987, she or dered him court Martiale for collecting $3,800 in a lot of people Are bending Over backwards to help me now. But they can t give me Back the five months i spent in  John Mullahy married housing allowance paid after the divorce. Other Navy officers say that such pay problems arc common and often Are remedied by simply requiring the Sailor to pay Back the Money owed. Mullahy said that he was told before the court martial that none of the officers who advised him about the hous ing allowance could be found to testify in his defense. He said that he believed that he would be convicted. But his problems were not Over. Through what the Navy now acknowledges were its own errors he was ordered to repay Cash advances he had received for food and housing while awaiting court martial. Aboard the Iowa Mullahy was in a Funk. He had married a Spanish nurse in october 1987. She had difficulties getting a card for dependent s benefits from Rios and Mullahy had moved her at his own expense to the states. Since he was getting reduced pay after being busted in rank from first class to third class gunner s mate he Felt the demands for reimbursements left him with no Choice but to quit. I would have had to go without being paid for three months he said. We could t do it. My truck was repossessed. Ucli had sold her car. We had no Money. I was going out on the ship and i could t even pay the rent for her. She was going to get thrown out on the Street and did t speak a word of English. I told the Captain that i had to get out and get a  his retirement from the Navy would have come after 18 years of service two years Short of the 20-year Mark that qualified him for a retirement payment for life. The Navy was t forcing him  said cmdr. Debo Rah by Metic a spokeswoman for the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk. Did he feel that he did t have any alternatives Given the situation i expect that was the  when some local news accounts after the Iowa explosion noted Mullahy s "catch-22" situation the Navy investigators began to look More closely at his Case. They kept him ashore when the Iowa set sail again june 7, and assigned Legal officers to pore Over his records to help rectify any injustice that May have occurred it. Cmdr. Burnett said. Navy lawyers have filed motions on his behalf in the Illinois court to move the Date of his 1982 divorce to july 1987 when he finally got notice of the divorce. If that succeeds Mullahy said that he expects the court martial verdict will be reversed he will be reimbursed lost pay and restored to his previous rank of gunner s mate first class. Navy officers have moved to waive the disputed temporary duly repayment that was not his fault. And the chief of Navy personnel at the Pentagon or dered that he receive a meritorious promotion that was recommended by the Captain of the Iowa despite the court martial conviction that would normally bar it. A lot of people arc bending Over backwards to help me now Mullahy said. But they can t give me Back the five months i spent in jail. They can t give me the13 months my wife and 1 were separated or the humiliation or the embarrassment. Yes i m  but Mullahy said that his anger is directed at his former commander in Spain not the Navy. This woman has ruined my life he said. But the Navy snot just one person. It s a whole lot of persons. I be been real fortunate to have been with some of the people i be been stationed  Rios reached by Telephone in Spain said that mul Lahy had made similar allegations against her at the Lime of his court martial and they were found to be  i do not wish to make any statements at All. It is his word against mine she added. Cmdr. Burnette in Norfolk said that she became aware of Mullahy s difficulties through the local news accounts about his actions on the Iowa. But she said that she believed he would have got assistance despite the publicity of his heroism. The Navy is providing Petty officer Mullahy with the assistance that we feel his circumstances  she said. He is a Sailor that we would Ware to keep in the  Eiffel Tower visited in High style Paris a High wire artist Philippe Petit walked a Tightrope Over Paris to the second level of the Eiffel Tower on saturday and said later his biggest problem was trying not to have too much fun. With a brisk Breeze blowing off the Seine Petit leapt to the rope at the palais de Chaillot and walked 2,300 feet on a Cord set at a 16-degree Angle to the Eiffel Tower s second level 330 feet above the sidewalk. Thousands of people watched As he crossed the length of More than seven football Fields on a wire As thin As three pencils occasionally stopping to Salute the Graceful Tower. My head was full of pure and Beautiful things i Felt a profound Joy almost like a child an engulfing elation he said afterwards looking tired but triumphant. The hardest part was not letting my Joy surpass the control 1 needed to continue. I was invaded by a Joy that was almost dangerous because i had my life in my  with Well wishers and the press on hand Petit announced that his next walk would be across the grand Canyon in summer 1990. Petit known for his illicit walks Between the towers of notre Dame Cathedral and at new York s world Trade Center carried a copy of the declaration of the rights of Man on his balancing bar. The declaration was the endur ing statement of social Justice and Liberty that emerged from the French revolution in 1789. At the end of his walk. Petit Slid Down a thin rope to the second1 floor of the Tower and delivered the Declara Tion into the hands of Paris mayor Jacques Chirac. Petit s slender 5-foot-7-Inch Frame was decked out at the beginning in a Silver jumpsuit with Blue scarves Dan gling from his arms and legs. The walk was the highlight of celebrations marking the Bicentennial of the declaration of the rights of Man. Partying continued saturday night at a concert sponsored by president Francois Mitterrand under the Monu mental cube of the new Archt de la defense. An International array of performers played in the nationally televised concert including american diva bar Bara Hendricks senegalese Singer you Sou Ndour Amer ican jazzman Eddy Louis French Rocker Jacques Higelin african swinger Manu Debango and algerian Singer Chub Khaled. The events brought to an end a summer of Bicentennial celebrations which climaxed with parades and fireworks on july 14, the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison. Philippe Petit takes a precarious route tothe Eiffel Tower in Paris on saturday