European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a a the stars and stripes monday april 16,1990 questions still haunt relatives 1 year after battleship blast Norfolk a. Apr questions haunt the relatives of 47 sailors killed last april in the fiery blast aboard the battleship Iowa and although the world War 11-Era warship May retire the families nightmares May not end. A with most accidents you have the Accident and then its Over. With All the press and the problems related to the investigation this just does no to go away a said Dale Schelin whose son Geoffrey was one of those killed. On april 19, 1989, seconds before the Iowa was to fire test shots from its three gun no. 2 Turret an explosion in the Center gun killed All 47 men in the upper Turret. Thirteen sailors in the turrets Bottom compartment escaped. The Navy which plans to Mothball the battleship concluded that the most Likely cause of the blast was sabotage a with most accidents you have the Accident and then its Over. This just does no to go  a Dale Schelin by gunners mate Clayton Hartwig who died in the blast. The Navy said Hartwig was suicidally despondent Over a broken Friendship with another Sailor. The families however doubt the Navy a conclusion. They want to know More about the age of the Gunpowder that ignited in the blast off puerto Rico and about possible malfunctions within the huge gun Turret. A the Gunpowder in the Turret was stored in the summer of 1988 on barges for 60 Days when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees a said Hartwigs sister Kathy Kubicina. A it is supposed to be stored at 70 degrees. The High temperatures cause it to  autopsy reports indicate that the dead sailors were wearing jewelry and watches that could have caused a spark in the Turret Kubicina said. �?o1 have evidence that indicates the Gunpowder was starting to turn Green a Kubicina said. A when it turns Green that Means it is starting to destabilize. In my brother a autopsy and other ones it says there were Green foreign materials in their  Kubicina said she has asked the Navy for a chemical analysis of the propellants removed from the bodies stateside claims of age Bias filed against Atlanta symphony Atlanta apr the musicians Union and two members of the Atlanta symphony orchestra have filed age discrimination complaints against the ensemble. The american federation of musicians complaint filed with the . Equal employment Opportunity commission claims music director yowl Levi has made it Clear he wants younger musicians a so he can Mold or shape  the Union with violinist Beniamin Picone 66, and principal Harp player Judith Beattie Ryan 42, filed complaints april 6. Levi 39, who joined the orchestra in september 1988, was out of town and could not be reached for  years taking toll in Rural areas of the nation Marshall Minn. Apr years of financial hardship have touched off record numbers of suicides and raised the incidence of drug taking depression and child abuse in Rural America officials say. Mental health problems Are growing faster in Rural areas than in cities but Rural mental health services remain woefully inadequate according to a Parade of witnesses at the first of three nationwide hearings by the National advisory mental health Council and the National mental health leadership forum. A but but i be been told no chemical analysis was  Sharon Ziegler a husband. Chief gunners mate Reginald Owen Ziegler 39, was the senior enlisted Man in the Iowa Turret. He was killed less than four months before he was to retire. A a it a so hard to believe that men working Side by Side with each other depending on each other that the Navy would pinpoint one Man a she said. A if they had picked on my husband i would have fought them just like the Hartwig family. Quot my husband always said there were Many things that could go wrong. He always said it All depended on his kids pushing the right buttons. Their lives depended on  tests by Navy experts found residue in the Center gun of material the Navy concluded was a detonating device. Those findings were not duplicated by Fri experts. The Navy a report also was criticized by members of Congress and outside experts who maintain that the Navy was looking for a Scapegoat and ignored other possible causes. A subcommittee of the House armed services committee said the Navy s conclusions were not supported by the facts. Krieg Brusnahan a lawyer for the Hartwigs said any Legal action will be announced on the anniversary of the blast thursday. A the Navy is not going to get away with trashing of the Hartwig family name with its uncorroborated accusations a he said. The future of the Iowa is Uncertain. One of four Iowa class battleships the second largest such ships Ever built the Iowa has nine 16-Inch guns that can hurl projectiles As heavy As Volkswagen beetles As far As 23 Miles. Launched in August 1942, it is the Only warship with a Bathtub which was installed for president Franklin d. Roosevelt. The Iowa won nine Battle stars in world War ii and two Battle stars in Korea. Changes in Eastern Europe have Navy officials reconsidering its usefulness. But former Navy Secretary John f. Lehman jr., who brought the Iowa out of retirement in 1983, said Mot Balling the ship would be a mistake. A we Stilt need naval Power to deter and contain state sponsored terrorism a Lehman said. A the battleship next to the Carrier is the most effective and important Means of  three months after the explosion the battleship left on a deployment to the Mediterranean with the damaged gun Turret sealed then returned to its Norfolk base in december. Today the Iowa is at the Norfolk naval shipyard battleship Iowa. Undergoing extensive overhaul undergoing $13 million of work in preparation for Mot Balling. A we will hold a private memorial service april 19 for the ships Crew and the families of men killed. Its really something very private a the Best Way for us to remember our shipmates a said it. Cmdr. Brad Goforth. A plaque listing the 47 sailors who died including Hartwig will be dedicated. The Iowa a commander capt. Fred Moosally called Hartwig a a Good Sailor and a Good  the families done to want to see the warship in Mothballs. A she belongs at sea a Ziegler said. A there is the Pride of All the Guys who went to sea on her who fought on her. That show she needs to be remembered a proudly Riding the Waves. That ship carries the ghosts of 47 men in her  Hawaii sen. Matsunaga Dies losing his Battle against cancer Washington apr sen. Spark m. Matsunaga of Hawaii who helped pave the Way for a postwar generation of japanese american politicians died sunday from prostate cancer. He was 73. Matsunaga who used a wheelchair when he cast his final votes on the Senate floor before last week s recess died before Dawn easter sunday at Toronto general Hospital nursing coordinator Olga Muir said. His press Secretary de Greaney said in Washington that Matsunaga had gone to an oncology clinic in Canada for treatment last week. The senator had announced in january that he was suffering from prostate cancer that had metastasized into the Bone. The son of japanese immigrants Matsunaga was a member of the All Nisei regiment that served in Europe during world War ii. His battalion became part of the famed 442nd regimental combat team the most decorated regiment in . History. Matsunaga himself was twice wounded and received combat medals including the Bronze Star and purple heart with Cluster. While he was serving in the . Military Many of Matsunaga a family members and friends were among the thousands of japanese americans confined in . Internment Camps. In 1971, Matsunaga sponsored legislation to repeal the emergency detention act under which the Camps were established. A the will be remembered most for his vision of peace and his Faith in the human heart a Hawaii gov. John Waihee a Democrat said in a statement sunday. A in his memory we will carry on his quest. In his spirit we will strive for the highest of principles and the brightest of worlds. A sen. Matsunaga has been a steady and guiding Force throughout Hawaii a Modem history a Waihee said. A Sparky warmed our state and country with his  Matsunaga was elected to the Senate in 1976 after serving 14 years in the House of representatives. He made a Mark Over the years As an advocate of peace and an ambassador of Good will for Hawaii. In 1984, the popular senator was Able to win enactment of one of his most deeply Felt goals establishment of a government Institute devoted to the study of peace Tor which he had begun lobbying in the House in 1963. Matsunaga a peacemaking is a much an Art to be teamed As War a was his persistent argument. The hawaiian Economy was Matsunaga a primary legislative concern. The states heavy dependence on Pacific rim nations encouraged him to take an Active role in opposing protectionist Trade legislation a Caus he championed As chairman of the finance subcommittee on International Trade in the 100th Congress. Before going to Washington Matsunaga was a member of Hawaii a territorial House from 1954 to 195 9. Matsunaga is survived by his wife Helene hat sum Tokunaga and five children