As someone who got to know Clive Cussler on the Hunley expedition as well as being an anthropologist by training and a historian by profession, you won't be dsur[rised that i have an opinion.

Cussler has nothing but repsect for the crew of the Hunley. He has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money looking not just for the Hunley but for other of what he calls "ships of destiny" including The Bonhomme Richard. While in France, I did some investigation for him about what would be involved in a search for The Alabama.

He is fascinated by the sheer bravery of the men who sailed in these ships that changed the course of history. Although he has pride in finding the Hunley, his motivation, I am positive, is not one of personal achievement but more of paying tribute. I remember talking with him several times about the search for the Titanic. He felt that was a whole other kind of thing. He wasn;t interested in the notoriety of the vessel, but in its achievements.

THink of a crew, in the dark (light provided by a candle that was also the indicator of when the oxygen was running out) trying to navigate in three dimensions. Up until that time, movement was essentially a two dimensional affair. THese men had to learn how to do a controlled sinking and move underwater on a level course under some sort of control through all sorts of harbor currents when they had a top speed of three knots

I can understand why some people would feel as though an excavation of the Hunley is desecration of a grave but I really don't agree. I have tried to think of what I would feel for a father or brother who were aboard the Hunley and I've decided that I would like to see them united in a memorial ashore that reminded people of the bravery that p[eople are capable of when they believe in their cause.

Sourdough