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A WWII transport ship equipped with non-functioning lifeboats and inadequate lifebelts was sunk by one of the first radio-guided missiles ever used in war. 1,015 U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack that remains the greatest loss of life at sea in the history of any U.S. war.
Uncovered classified documents reveal that neglect and oversight contributed to the large number of casualties. The government deflected responsibility by declaring the disaster classified indefinitely while ordering all survivors to remain silent.
The casualty families were stonewalled and most of them went to their own graves never knowing what happened; their boys just never came home.
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