Can any readers help a Navy Hero?

Can any readers help a Navy Hero?

HERO OF USS IOWA EXPLOSION STILL DENIEDJUSTICE TWENTY YEARS LATER - RETIRED NAVYPETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS JOHN MULLAHY'SLIFE RUINED BY FEMALE OFFICER'S VENDETTAAGAINST HIM - WE ASK CHIEF OF NAVAL OPNSGARY ROUGHEAD TO ORDER FULL INVESTIGATION"IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO RIGHT A WRONG."SAILOR DESERVES RETROACTIVE PROMOTIONTO AT LEAST CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (E-7) PLUSBACK PAY AND FULL BENEFITS
Twenty years after retired Petty Officer First Class John Mullahy saved the USS Iowa from blowing up, the hero sailor still is denied justice in what we at MilitaryCorruption.com consider to be one of the most egregious cases of abuse we have seen in the U.S. Navy.This brave man, who risked a fiery death and the ultimate sacrifice in saving the lives of the ship's crew, deserves to have his record cleared. And we are calling upon Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead to order a full investigation into the abuses inflicted on John Mullahy. It's never too late to right a wrong.We first ran the story you are about to read here in the Spring of 2001. It is just as relevant, if not more so, today. With an update at the end, including an interview with the former gunner's mate, now living in Thailand, we urge all active duty, Naval Reservists, veterans, and Navy retirees to send a copy of this story to your U.S. senators and congresspersons. John Mullahy is an American hero. He deserves justice - now!
THE UNKNOWN HERO OF THE USSIOWA EXPLOSION - HOW THE NAVYFAILED TO PUNISH A FEMALEOFFICER'S VENDETTA AGAINST HIM
It was one of the most heroic acts in the annals of the United States Navy. If it had occurred in wartime, Petty Officer 1st Class John Mullahy would have been recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor.Instead, he was the victim of a vendetta so vicious and unrelenting, his Navy career and life was ruined. His enemy, now-retired USN Capt. Patricia Rios, daughter and only child of (now-deceased) Vice-Admiral John Barrow, is alleged to have gone to great lengths to "punish" Mullahy for what he calls "refusing to obey an illegal order."After an extensive investigation by Military Corruption.com, we have concluded Mullahy acted properly and was "guilty" of no more than arousing the hatred of an officer who would go to any length to harass and harm him.
EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM
Our story begins in the waters off Puerto Rico. The date, April 19, 1989. Aboard the USS Iowa, sailors in Turret 2 of the battleship's 16-inch guns prepared to fire during a training exercise.Suddenly, a flash and a huge explosion rocked the ship. Quickly, other explosions followed. Fires raged. If the flames reached the powder magazine, the entire ship could be lost!Deep in the bowels of Turret 2, Gunner's Mate Mullahy, a fearless Irishman from Boston, who'd made the Navy his career, rescued three of his shipmates trapped behind a jammed hatch.Totally disregarding the extreme danger, and refusing to evacuate the area to save his own life, Mullahy single-handedly battered open the hatch with a wrench and dragged the three sailors to safety.But that wasn't all.Knowing the Iowa would be utterly destroyed if the fires reached the ship's magazine, Mullahy found his way through numerous smoke-filled compartments to the damage control center. There, he quickly activated the sprinkler system to Turret 2 and the powder magazine. That act of heroism kept the battleship from blowing up.Finding Lt. Blackie passed out on the floor, Mullahy, without benefit of a gas mask and nearly collapsing from fumes and smoke, carried the unconscious man to forward battle station, saving the officer's life.Mullahy continued to help men escape the blast areas and even volunteered for casualty identification duty. He worked for 36 straight hours without sleep.In those critical moments after the explosion, Mullahy stared death in the face and didn't blink.For his heroism that day, Mullahy was meritoriously promoted to petty officer first class and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Bravery.One would think the Navy public relations office would roll into high gear and crank out press releases about Mullahy's courageous actions which saved the Iowa and her crew. But no, the Navy brass prefer to keep silent to this day about a genuine hero they allowed to be destroyed.
REFUSING AN ILLEGAL ORDER
Three years earlier, in 1986, John Mullahy was stationed at a 73-acre Navy ammunition depot at Cartagena, Spain.At first all went well. Mullahy's boss, then-Lt. Cdr. Patricia Rios, was very pleased with his excellent work.In a document obtained by MilitaryCorruption.com - Mullahy's "enlisted efficiency report" for 86Jan06 to 86Nov30 - Rios couldn't praise her petty officer enough."HIS PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN SUPERIOR. A SELF-STARTER, HE HAS TAKEN THE INITIATIVE TO UPGRADE ALL ASPECTS OF AMMUNITION STORAGE, ACCOUNTABILITY AND HANDLING AT THIS ACTIVITY AND HAS DONE A REMARKABLE JOB."HE RECEIVED COMMENDATORY COMMENTS FROM THE EXPLOSIVE SAFETY BOARD, CINCUSNAVEUR AMMUNITION OFFICER AND CTF-63 WEAPONS OFFICER FOR HAVING HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE UNIT'S PERFORMANCE AND FOR IMPROVING READINESS. HIS INNOVATIVENESS, COGENT SUGGESTIONS AND DRIVE TO EXCEL MAKE HIM A VALUABLE ASSET TO THIS COMMAND."PETTY OFFICER MULLAHY DEMONSTRATES THE REQUISITE QUALITIES OF A SUCCESSFUL LEADER AND IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR RETENTION AND ADVANCEMENT TO CHIEF PETTY OFFICER."Sound good? It should. Mullahy was one of the top petty officers in the Navy. But soon, all those deserved words of praise would be forgotten in the unreasoning anger of a bitter and hate-filled vendetta.

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