Navy Destroys Fishing Boat 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
While still active duty Navy stationed in San Diego in 1992, a story of particular interest to the media, and of course all Navy personnel in the area, erupted in a storm of controversy. You see, it is common practice for the Navy to use portions of the Catalina Island shores for target practice. In the regions where the Navy fires their guns, there are buoys placed everywhere, warning fishermen that the waters are strictly off limits to civilians, and that the area is used for live target practice so these waters are exceptionally dangerous. However, one individual chose to ignore the warnings and sailed his small fishing boat into the area to enjoy an all-night fishing excursion.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what happened that night. The Navy began a night-firing exercise, with live shells landing very near our hero’s boat. When one of the watches on board the Naval vessel reported a larger-than-usual explosion in the water, they ceased fire and moved in to investigate. All they found was the wreckage and debris from the small craft floating in the pitch-black water.
It doesn’t end here; the victim’s wife, enraged at the Navy for killing her husband, filed a wrongful death suit against the Navy in an attempt to obtain compensation for the loss of her spouse.
So who deserves the award more; the man for ignoring the obvious warnings and thereby preventing himself from further-contaminating the gene pool, or his wife, expecting to get money from the Navy, which had so obviously warned that these were exceptionally dangerous waters? Perhaps they both deserve one; at the very least the angler does, and maybe an honorable mention is on order for his wife.
Additional information from Michael La Violette:
I would like to comment on the "Navy Destroys Fishing Boat" story. Most
likely this is an actual event. These intrusions into "Impact Areas", (The
proper terminology) are more common then people think. I have seen many
graphic photos of individuals who entered land impact areas and found
either a UXO (unexploded ordnance) or were caught by incoming fire. The
reason people do this is that the hunting/fishing are better in the impact
areas because no goes there to hunt/fish. Hunters have told me that when
hunting season opens the deer goes to the impact areas and stays there for
the rest of the season.
As for radar, the boat could have been missed for any number of reasons.
In Egypt we had to send aircraft out daily to look for the Bedouin nomads
who would move into the impact areas and setup camp. There was always the
concern that somehow we would miss someone and cause an international
incident by accidentally killing one of the nomads.
Submitted on 06/03/2003
Submitted by: CJ Smith
Reference:
San Diego Union Tribune, 1992
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