Navy openness in sub inquiry will help heal

More than a half-century after the end of World War II, historians within and outside the Navy are still debating the actions of its officers and men from Pearl Harbor on.

So one can be sure that the events surrounding the collision between the American submarine USS Greeneville and the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru will be discussed and analyzed for years to come.

Fortunately, it will be a debate that can be built around a thorough and public record of the Navy's inquiry into the tragedy. After a rather stumbling start in its public handling of information about the incident, the Navy got on track in a commendable way.

The inquiry was open, thorough and by all accounts fair. There was no effort to contain information or put "spin" on the dramatic story as it unfolded in the Pearl Harbor courtroom. By all accounts, the process was completely open, both to the participants and to those who monitored it through the news media both in the United States and Japan.

Families of the Ehime Maru victims were treated with consideration and respect. The news media — acting as eyes and ears for the larger public — were given complete access to the proceedings. The Navy even went so far as to make experts in military law and submarine technology available to help decipher some of the more arcane testimony.

After an initial impulse to be protective and defensive, the Navy opened up a very public window on a particularly raw wound. One can only hope, and expect, that this candor will be an important element in the healing still to come.