Capt. Charles B. McVay III of the USS Indianapolis became the only ship captain in the U.S. Navy to be court-martialed in connection with the loss of his ship in combat during World War II. In February 1946 McVay was found guilty of negligence for having failed to steer the ship on a zigzag course to help evade enemy submarines. The military court recommended clemency, and the sentence (a decrease in seniority) was set aside. Upon his retirement in 1949, McVay was promoted to rear admiral. Many survivors of the tragedy believed that McVay had been scapegoated. Following a campaign to clear McVay’s name, in 2000 the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution exonerating him. In 2001 the U.S. Navy placed in McVay’s record a memorandum noting that the resolution had absolved him from blame.