On Sunday, August 22, 2004 11:57 PM, Chuck wrote:

> As a society, we are hypocrites on this at best.  Dont dare disturb the
> graves of our dead but we have no compunctions about disturbing the graves
> of other cultures and removing the very bones of the dead for 'study' and
> for us to gawk at in museums.  I wonder if there would be the same
feelings
> about diving on a German U-boat and if not, why not?

Mate!  At the end of the day it all - it seems to me - comes down to
individual attitude.  (A bit like visiting a Cathedral and then proceeding
to spray paint the walls with graffiti!)

Apart from obvious safety reasons when there's a risk of collapsing decks or
bulkheads, I see litle reason to place a blanket prohibition on access to
wrecks of this type.  (Some that have particular emotional appeal may well
be exempt, but even then - depending on the location - there may come a time
when they have to be dealt with in less than respectful terms when they do
begin to disintegrate.

There's also the fact that many of these types of vessel no longer exist and
to document them properly - and even to discover the reasons why they sank -
does, in a sense, help preserve their memory and those of the crews who
perished. :-)

Strike