Former 'Greeneville' captain apologizes to collision survivors

Nearly two years after the U.S. nuclear attack submarine Greeneville hit and sank the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fisheries high school's training ship, off Hawaii, Scott Waddle, the Greeneville's skipper at the time, came to Japan to make an apology to the victims' families as well as to survivors.

On December 15, Waddle visited Uwajima Fisheries High School in Ehime Prefecture and laid a wreath at the cenotaph for the 9 fishery school students who fell victim in that fatal collision.

He also met with four surviving students to hand them a letter of apology but stopped short of answering the students' question: "Why did the sub collide with the fishing trawler?" The students were there accompanied by their doctor, who is treating them for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The former commander was visiting to make an apology to the victims. Two out of 35 families of the victims had requested him to do so before reaching a settlement over compensation with the U.S. Forces.

Scott Waddle was honorably discharged from military service last year. (end)