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When Ballard left the Titanic in 1986, it was with a new understanding and appreciation for what the site really was, a mass grave. As a result, he abandoned his original plans to salvage items from the wreck and instead focused his attention on preserving it intact, supporting the RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act passed by the United States Congress on October 21, 1986.
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Charles River Editors (The Titanic and the Lusitania: The Controversial History of the 20th Century’s Most Famous Maritime Disasters)