Indianapolis Survivor

[Kevin G]

Yesterday while walking the dogs on the beach I met a gentleman wearing a well worn "USS Indianapolis" ballcap. Actually he passed, I saw the hat and turned and caught up to him.
"USS Indianapolis" was a cruiser sunk near the very end of WWII by a Japanese sub's torpedoes. She had just delivered one of the "A" Bombs to Saipan/Tinian. Anyway, her sinking has been the subject of several books and movies. Large loss of life was contributed to by the fact that US Navy thru bureaucratic ***** failed to notice her disappearance. Survivors of both the sinking and terrible shark attacks were luckily spotted by aircraft and rescued.
Prior to the USS Indianapolis this gentleman survived the SS Henry Bergh which fetched up (ran aground) and was a complete loss on the Faralon Islands to the west of Golden Gate. After his Survivors Leave from the Bergh incident he chose the USS Indianapolis as his next duty station.
Following WWII he pursued a career at sea aboard US Merchant ships in the engine room.
He didn't talk much about the Indianapolis sinking, did talk of some of the politics of the aftermath. Spent more time around the grounding of the Bergh which had no loss of life and had its share of humorous anecdotes.
When I got home I did google him, we didn't exchange names but an entry for USS Indianapolis Survivor and the next town over where he's resided for his 91yrs. Sure enough several items came up w/photos of other Vets and him at various local events, Veterans Days, Memorial Days, etc. and in some he was identified as an Indianapolis Survivor.
It's wonderful to meet people like this gentleman and listen to what they experienced.
Kevin G

 

[Abbynormal]

Living in Indy, the USS Indianapolis is a big sense of pride for the city. One survivor who became an Indianapolis fire fighter Lt. was the impetus for the local support as was "JAWS".

The survivors have held an annual reunion here for several decades and a memorial has been established on the downtown canal. I-465 (our beltway) has been designated the "USS Indianapolis Highway".

We Hoosiers take pride in our hero's and have adopted the survivors.

Unfortunately as time goes on fewer and fewer attend, but we love and cherish them all.

 

[mtgianni]

Awesome stories, I can hear Robert Shaw in Jaws, "1100 men went into the water, 312 came out". I am sure someone else will find the right numbers but the sentiment of those heroes is the same.

 

[kaaskop49]

Living in Indy, the USS Indianapolis is a big sense of pride for the city. One survivor who became an Indianapolis fire fighter Lt. was the impetus for the local support as was "JAWS".

The survivors have held an annual reunion here for several decades and a memorial has been established on the downtown canal. I-465 (our beltway) has been designated the "USS Indianapolis Highway".

We Hoosiers take pride in our hero's and have adopted the survivors.

Unfortunately as time goes on fewer and fewer attend, but we love and cherish them all.

This is amazing and wonderful to hear. I did not think folks cared any longer about such events. Pleased to hear I am wrong in this instance.

Can't remember the name of the historian, but he wrote that whenever a large ship went down (and there were many on both sides in the Pacific), the sharks were always "on site," attacking swimmers. Rescuers has to work quickly to pull survivors out of the water.

Historian James Hornfischer reports the survivors of Taffy 3, after the epic incident of Samar during the Leyte Gulf battle, were in the water for a very long time, and the sharks were working them over also.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[CATI1835]

If you take the time to do a little research and read the complete story of this incident, you will probably be shocked and angered at the actions of the U.S. Navy at the time of this incident and afterward. The captain was court-martialed and and disgraced. In fact, the failure was not his but the Navy as an institution. However, in the eyes of the Navy command staff, the Navy itself can never be held responsible for incompetence. An individual had to be found. They chose the Captain. Ultimately he took his own life. In my mind, this is darkest hour in U.S. Navy history. Had I been part of it I would feel ashamed.

 

[Big Cholla]

I have been a big reader of WW II history vis-a-vis the war in the Pacific. After a little bit of thought, I have been a little surprised that we didn't take far longer to subdue the Japanese solely because of the bureaucratic incompetence of the then Navy Leaders. MacArthur had good reason to suspect almost everything the Navy proposed. ..........

IMHO, if one looks in the dictionary for the definition of the phrases, "Reluctant to Change" and "Not Invented Here", the WW II top leaders of the US Navy would be pictured right there. ..............

 

[Farmer17]

I remember reading about one of the survivors stories. He said he didn't think sharks killed many of the people in the water, he said they were their pretty often and even bumped him as he floated, but they seemed to prefer the people who had already died from exposure and dehydration and drifted away from the groups. He said the diesel fuel on the water was terrible and he could taste it weeks later after being rescued.

 

[eveled]

I've said it before, and I stand by my statement. Quint's recollection of the events of the sinking of the Indianapolis, is IMHO, the finest 5 minutes of film ever filmed. Gives me chills every time I see it. We owe those men a debt that can never be repaid.

 

[rwsmith]

And how.....

It's wonderful to meet people like this gentleman and listen to what they experienced.
Kevin G

And how. I hope all the guys I pestered stories out of knew that I was genuinely curious and wanted to hear first hand instead of what I read in books. Most of those people are now gone, but I remember their stories. Maybe 'story' is the wrong word. Account? Maybe. I'm going to make sure these get passed on so that they will be remembered.

One reason (part of the whole story) the Indianapolis was out of touch was that its mission was secret, having delivered parts of the A-Bomb to Tinian and were on their way back, probably under radio silence. I don't know if security would have been as 'tight' as on their way to the island, but they probably won't taking chances with a leak.

 

[Frank46]

I recently read "In harms way" about the USS Indianapolis and still think the captain got shafted by the navy. Heck they didn't know the ship was overdue when she didn't show up for her next duty assignment. they even had the skipper of the Japanese sub that sank her testify. Frank

 

[vigil617]

What a national treasure you encountered there on the beach, Kevin! And to think this man had two ships sunk from underneath him, yet made a career in the Merchant Marine. Wonderful.

"In Harm's Way" is a terrific account of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. I highly recommend it.

 

[Dennis The B]

I've said it before, and I stand by my statement. Quint's recollection of the events of the sinking of the Indianapolis, is IMHO, the finest 5 minutes of film ever filmed. Gives me chills every time I see it. We owe those men a debt that can never be repaid.

The soliloquy was written by John Milius.

Robert Shaw was actually drunk when they did the first take. He failed badly, and Steven Spielberg was really upset. Evidently Shaw realized how important the scene was, and he assured Spielberg that he would get it right with another try. He nailed it the next day with one take.