Berry Louis Cannon (March 22, 1935 – February 17, 1969) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

aquanaut An aquanaut is any person who remains underwater, breathing at the ambient pressure for long enough for the concentration of the inert components of the breathing gas dissolved in the body tissues to reach equilibrium, in a state known as satura ...

who served on the SEALAB II and III projects of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. Cannon died of

carbon dioxide poisoning Hypercapnia (from the Greek ''hyper'' = "above" or "too much" and ''kapnos'' = "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous pro ...

while attempting to repair SEALAB III. It was later found that his diving rig's

baralyme Baralyme is a mixture of 80% calcium hydroxide and 20% barium hydroxide compounds that is used as an alternative to soda lime Soda lime is a mixture of NaOH and CaO chemicals, used in granular form in closed breathing environments, such as gener ...

canister, which should have absorbed the

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

Cannon exhaled, was empty.

Early life and education

Born March 22, 1935, Cannon grew up in

Williston, Florida Williston is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,768. Histoy The city was established before 1885 by J.M. Willis, who named it after himself. Geography Williston is located at (29.386 ...

, where he was raised by his grandmother. He was captain of his high school football team and graduated from Williston High School. Cannon joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

after high school and served for four years, becoming a

Mineman Mineman (abbreviated as MN) is a United States Navy occupational rating. Duties * Perform organizational and intermediate level maintenance on underwater mines and associated equipment, guns, gun mounts, handling equipment, small arms, surface ...

Second Class. At one time he served at the

Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot Hawthorne Army Depot (HWAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command ammunition storage depot located near the town of Hawthorne, Nevada, Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake (Nevada), Walker Lake. ...

Hawthorne, Nevada Hawthorne is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 3,269, a decrease since the 2000 census, when it was 3,311. It is the county seat of Mineral County. The nearby Hawtho ...

, where he was on the

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

team. Cannon graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1962 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

Electronic Engineering Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

.Hellwarth
p. 130. Berry Cannon inside Sealab II

SEALAB II

Cannon was a civilian electronics engineer at the U.S. Navy Mine Defense Laboratory in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

, where he designed intercommunications systems. From August 28 to September 12, 1965, Cannon served on the first crew of SEALAB II near

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He received the Navy's Superior Civilian Service Award for his participation in the project.

SEALAB III

In 1969, Cannon was assigned to Team One for the SEALAB III project, which would take place off

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

. He was one of four members of Team One assigned to open and secure the habitat, alongside fellow aquanauts Robert A. Barth,

Richard Blackburn Sir Richard Arthur Blackburn, (26 July 1918 – 1 October 1987) was an Australian judge, prominent legal academic and military officer. He became a judge of three courts in Australia, and eventually became chief justice of the Australian Capit ...

and

John Reaves Thomas Johnson "John" Reaves (March 2, 1950 – August 1, 2017) was an American college and professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and three seasons in the United States Football L ...

. On February 16, 1969, the SEALAB III

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

sprang a leak. Cannon, Barth, Blackburn and Reaves were twice sent down to SEALAB in the Personnel Transfer Capsule (PTC) in an attempt to repair the problem.Hellwarth
pp. 171-180. Shortly after 0500 hours on February 17, Cannon began to convulse while working on the exterior of the habitat. Barth tried to save him, holding his head in the breathable gas pocket of the skirt surrounding SEALAB's entrance and unsuccessfully attempting to force the mouthpiece of the emergency

aqua-lung Aqua-Lung was the first open-circuit, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (or "scuba") to achieve worldwide popularity and commercial success. This class of equipment is now commonly referred to as a twin-hose diving regulator, or dema ...

regulator between Cannon's teeth. Finally, Barth dragged Cannon back toward the PTC, where his fellow aquanauts helped him bring Cannon inside and Reaves and Blackburn attempted resuscitation.Hellwarth
pp. 181-184. When the PTC reached the surface it was obvious that Cannon was dead. His body was placed in the outer airlock of the deck

decompression chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...

(DDC), returned to surface pressure and brought to

San Diego Naval Hospital Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", or "The Pink Palace" (because the stucco of the first buildings that were constructed was pinkish in color), is a tech ...

.Hellwarth
pp. 185-186. Cannon's funeral was held at Humphrey Mortuary in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

, on February 19. He was buried at Wacahoota Baptist Cemetery in

central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

Aftermath

It was widely reported in the news media that Cannon had died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. However, the official board of inquiry, held in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

from February 28 to March 12, 1969, concluded that Cannon had in fact died of

. The carbon dioxide-scrubbing baralyme canister on Cannon's Mark IX diving rig was empty. The SEALAB III aquanauts, including Cannon, did not set up their own diving rigs. The identity of the person who failed to refill the baralyme canister was never determined. SEALAB

medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the ...

Paul G. Linweaver later suggested that Cannon would have realized his equipment was faulty had he not been suffering from extreme cold due to breathing pressurized

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

. Surgeon commander John Rawlins, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

medical officer assigned to the project, also suggested that

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

was a contributing factor. (reprint from ''New Zealand Journal of Sports Medicine''). According to

John Piña Craven John Piña Craven (October 30, 1924 – February 12, 2015) was an American scientist who was known for his involvement with Bayesian search theory and the recovery of lost objects at sea. He was Chief Scientist of the Special Projects Offic ...

, the U.S. Navy's head of the Deep Submergence Systems Project of which SEALAB was a part, SEALAB III had been "plagued with strange failures at the very start of operations". According to Craven, while the other divers were undergoing the weeklong decompression, repeated attempts were made to sabotage their air supply by someone aboard the command barge. Eventually, a guard was posted on the decompression chamber and the men were recovered safely. A potentially unstable suspect was identified by the staff psychiatrist but the culprit was never prosecuted. Craven suggests this may have been done to spare the Navy bad press so soon after the USS ''Pueblo'' incident. As a result, it has been suggested that Cannon's death was a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

Personal life

Cannon was married to Mary Lou Cannon and had three sons. He was known for seldom complaining if his complaint would go against command authority. He enjoyed reading the works of

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

Memorial

The Berry L. Cannon Memorial Aquarium was dedicated in 1970 to the distinguished honor and memory of Berry L. Cannon. It is now part of th
Citrus County School District's Marine Science Station
in Crystal River, FL.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

''San Diego Magazine'' Article: ''Death of an Aquanaut'', Part 1

''Death of an Aquanaut'', Part 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Berry 1935 births 1969 deaths Accidental deaths in California American underwater divers Aquanauts Burials in Florida Deaths from hypercapnia People from Levy County, Florida Place of birth missing 20th-century American engineers Underwater diving deaths United States Navy sailors University of Florida College of Engineering alumni United States Navy civilians