How to judge a wartime engineer's eyewitness account

How reliable is the chief engineer's account of what happened to Shimakaze?

As reliable as corroboration and internal logic make it; firsthand memory alone is not conclusive.

An engineer's account should be tested like any other primary testimony. Claims gain weight when independent evidence supports them and the sequence is internally logical. Contradictions may indicate misremembering rather than deliberate deception. Traumatic events can produce false memories, so eyewitness status alone does not settle the question.