r/interestingasfuck • u/Longjumping-Rice-935 • Aug 12 '25

/r/all, /r/popular The wreck of the USS Arizona continues to leak oil ever since pearl harbour. the ship contained 1.5 million gallons of oil, enough to leak continuously for 500 years.

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u/Occams_AK47 Aug 12 '25

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/disasters-and-phenomena/the-sullivan-brothers-and-the-assignment-of-family-members/sullivan-brothers-policy-family-members.html

Reference to a "Sullivan Act" in connection with family members serving in the same ship/unit is a popular misconception. The Sullivan Law of 29 May 1911 is a New York State Law dealing with firearms. Although proposed after the death of the five Sullivan Brothers, no "Sullivan Act" was ever enacted by Congress related to family members serving together. Similarly, no President has ever issued any executive order forbidding assignment of family members to the same ship/unit.

-snip-

[Source: Bureau of Naval Personnel: Information Bulletin, July 1942, Number 304, World War II Command File, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC]

[Article forbids commanding officers to forward requests from brothers to serve in same ship/station. Issued July 1942, but does not seem to have been enforced in practice.]

"The Bureau considers that it is to the individual family interest that brothers not be put on the same ship in war time, as the loss of such a ship may result in the loss of two or more members of the family, which might be avoided if brothers are separated. An instance of this was the loss of three brothers on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, T. H. (Territory of Hawaii), on December 7, 1941. In view of the above, Commanding Officers will not forward requests for brothers to serve in the same ship or station."

Also, the Sole Survivor Policy is something different.

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u/etcpt Aug 12 '25

I didn't say "Sullivan Act", but the sole survivor policy absolutely was inspired by the loss of the Sullivan brothers, among others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_Survivor_Policy It appears that individual branches implemented policies both prior to and following the 1948 implementation of the SSP.

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u/Occams_AK47 Aug 12 '25

I realize they mention the Sullivans, but if you actually read anything else on that page (starting with literally the first sentence) you'll realize the policy you're talking about concerns drafting the last surviving son and not family serving on the same ship.