Andrew J. May
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Andrew Jackson May (June 24, 1875—September 6, 1959) was a Kentucky attorney and influential New Deal-era politician, best known for his central role in the May Incident. May was a Democratic member of United States House of Representatives from Kentucky during the Seventy-second to Seventy-ninth sessions of Congress. He served as a ranking Democratic member and Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs (Seventy-sixth through Seventy-ninth Congresses). [1]
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[edit] Education and Early Career
May was born on Beaver Creek, near Langley in Floyd County, Kentucky on June 24, 1875. In 1898 he graduated from Southern Normal University Law School, in Huntingdon, TN (later named Union College, Jackson, TN) and was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing his law practice in Prestonsburg, KY. May was county attorney of Floyd County, Kentucky 1901-1909; special judge of the circuit court of Johnson and Martin Counties in 1925 and 1926. During this time, May also engaged in Democratic Party politics, agricultural pursuits, coal mining, and banking. [1]
May was elected as a New Deal Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and to seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1931-January 3, 1947). He was Chairman of the powerful Committee on Military Affairs during the Seventy-sixth through Seventy-ninth Congresses, and a consistent supporter of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
[edit] The May Incident
During World War II, May was responsible for a major release of confidential military information, known as the May Incident. In that incident, U.S. submarines had been conducting a successful undersea war against Japanese shipping during World War II, frequently escaping Japanese anti-submarine depth charge attacks. Unfortunately, the deficiencies of Japanese depth-charge tactics were revealed in a press conference held in June 1943 by Congressman May, a member of the House Committee on Military Affairs. May had visited the Pacific theater and received many confidential intelligence and operational briefings. At the press conference, May revealed that American submarines had a high survivability rate because Japanese depth charges were typically fused to explode at too shallow a depth. Various press associations sent this leaked news story over their wires, compounding the disaster, and many newspapers (including one in Honolulu, Hawaii), published it.[2] [3]
Soon, Japanese forces were resetting their depth charges to explode at a more effective average depth of 250 feet. Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of the U.S. submarine fleet in the Pacific, later estimated that May's revelation cost the United States Navy as many as ten submarines and 800 crewmen lost in action.[4] [5]
Though the Roosevelt administration and the Navy Department in particular were furious with May's disclosures, they could do little about it. At the time, Roosevelt was preparing his election run for the 1944 presidential campaign, May was Chairman and ranking Democratic member of the powerful Military Affairs Committee, and public revelation of the consequences of May's indiscretions could have come at a high political price for the Roosevelt administration.
[edit] Postwar Life
Following news reports of other irregularities concerning his conduct in office, May was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress. He was convicted on July 3, 1947 on charges of accepting bribes to use his position as Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee to award munitions contracts during the Second World War. He served nine months in prison during 1950.
However, he continued to retain influence in Democratic party politics, and President Truman decided to grant May a full pardon in 1952. Unable to revive his political career, he returned home to practice law until his death. [1]
May died in Prestonsburg, Kentucky on September 6, 1959 and is buried in Mayo Cemetery. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] Books
- Blair, Clay, Silent Victory (Vol.1), The Naval Institute Press, 2001
- Lanning, Michael Lee (Lt. Col.), Senseless Secrets: The Failures of U.S. Military Intelligence from George Washington to the Present, Carol Publishing Group, 1995
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Andrew Jackson May entry accessed url 08/16/2006.
- ^ Blair, Clay, Silent Victory Vol.1, pg 397.
- ^ Lanning, Michael Lee (Lt.Col), Senseless Secrets, p. 82
- ^ Blair, Clay, Silent Victory Vol.1, pg 397.
- ^ Lanning, Michael Lee (Lt.Col), Senseless Secrets, p. 82
| Preceded by Katherine G. Langley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 7th District of Kentucky 1931– 1947 |
Succeeded by Wendell H. Meade |
