Certain military information is kept under wraps for a reason: to keep it out of the wrong hands. Congressman Andrew May appeared to be in the dark about this when he conducted a press conference in 1943. The outcome was grim, with around 10 submarines lost and the heartbreaking deaths of 800 US Navy crewmen.
The May Incident
After America joined World War II, the US Navy earned recognition for its achievements. Despite Japanese attempts to sink their vessels, the Allied forces adeptly dodged the assaults. The key was the prowess of the Balao-class submarines, capable of diving to depths of 400 feet – deeper than the Japanese targeted with their depth charges.
In 1943, Andrew May, the chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee, set out on a tour of US military zones in the Pacific Theater. Throughout this period, he acquired a wealth of classified war-related information.
Upon his return in June, May held a press conference, where he revealed that the high survival rate of American submarines was Japanese charges detonating at excessively shallow depths. This revelation was disseminated through press wires and featured in publications across the United States.
The fallout of a blabbermouth
Not long after this news spread, the Japanese naval anti-submarine forces adjusted their charges to explode at a greater depth. This prompted Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of the US submarine fleet in the Pacific, to estimate that May’s breach cost the Navy 10 submarines and resulted in the deaths of some 800 crewmen.
“I hear Congressman May said the Jap depth charges are not set deep enough,” he said. “He would be pleased to know that the Japs set them deeper now.”
The Navy’s Pacific Submarine Fleet released a report following the press conference, in which it determined Japanese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) forces had failed to uncover the maximum depth the US submarine fleet could reach. However, it failed to state whether the Japanese had altered their depth charge attacks to deeper positions due to May’s revelation.
Alleged war profiteering
The ill-fated press conference wasn’t the only ding to Andrew May’s career. During the early stages of the war, he became involved with two New York-based businessmen, Henry and Murray Garsson. Despite the pair having no prior arms manufacturing knowledge or experience, they sought to financially gain from the US involvement in the conflict by securing munitions contracts from the government.
On the pair’s behalf, May used his position as chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee to contact Army ordnance and other government officials to obtain war contracts, favors, and draft deferments. For his efforts, he received substantial cash payments, information that was uncovered by a Senate investigating committee following the war.
This soon turned into a scandal, which only grew following testimony about the profit-taking of the Garssons’ company and the defects in their munitions. It was found their 4.2-inch mortar shells had defective fuzes, leading to premature detonation. It’s believed this resulted in the death of 38 American servicemen.
Paying for his actions… Maybe?
The fallout for Andrew May’s many guffaws during the war included him losing re-election in 1946. He was then put on trial for federal bribery charges, and after less than two hours of jury deliberation was found guilty on July 3, 1947. Despite efforts to avoid incarceration, he was eventually sentenced to nine months in a federal facility.
Murray and Henry Garsson were also sentenced to prison terms.
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Despite his be-smudged reputation, May continued to retain influence over politics within the Democratic Party. As such, he was able to secure a full pardon from President Harry Truman in 1952. He was, however, unable to revive his political career and thus returned to Kentucky to practice law until his death.