Tuesday, August 22, 2017

USS Indianapolis



Did you see on the news this week that the USS Indianapolis was recovered? Led by the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen and his company found the ship by using information that was given to them by a Navy historian who discovered records of the last recorded sighting of the Indianapolis.



  I have written about this ship before...here,   here, and also here!  It is an amazing story.

Like many others, I first heard of it when watching the movie "Jaws".  You know when Shaw is relating the story of the sharks attacking the men who are in the water after their ship has been torpedoed? One young boy watching the movie in 1997 asked his father if that story was true.  His Dad told him that it was. Even though he was only 12 years old, he wrote to the surviving members of the Indianapolis and received startling letters from them with gruesome details of what they had witnessed.  Hunter Scott was the lad's name and he interviewed nearly 150 survivors.  The survivors were most insistent that their Captain had been unfairly treated and blamed for the ship's sinking. (Yes, the ship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo but you will just have to read more details about it...it will astound you. Captain Charles B. McVay III was court martialed.) 
The survivors of the Indianapolis never forgot their Captain, and when Hunter Scott contacted them in 1997, they eagerly shared their memories and opinions with him.  All of this resulted in Captain McVay being exonerated by Congressional Resolution in 2000.   Captain McVay had committed suicide in 1968 but his men never forgot him or gave up fighting for his honor.
In 2001, the Secretary of the Navy ordered that Captain McVay's record be purged of any wrongdoing.

I can't stop thinking of the men from the Indianapolis and what the survivors had to endure.  I urge you to read more about them.  The fact that the Indianapolis has now been found should bring more attention to this true story from World War II.

For anyone who might happen upon this post who could be related to one of the survivors, please pass along my most sincere best wishes.  You are all heroes and have my utmost respect.



   Photo of the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse near Eastbourne, England.  Nothing to do with the USS Indianapolis, just the best photo I have of open water. The Royal Sovereign is 7 miles out to sea, in the English Channel.  


12 comments:

  1. It is a compelling story leading up to the discovery of the wreckage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Jaws" scared the living daylight out of me when I watched it in my late teens, and 12 seems rather young for this movie. But in this case, something great came out of it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Kay - I had noted the Indianapolis was found ... but didn't know the story. I'm glad he was exonerated. Lovely photo of the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse - I've only got distance ones - still using only an iphone ... it's not surprising I guess. Sad story about a misdirected result of years ago ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it's important to remember how much was lost by war and pray some would remember and prevent further devastation like this ship that was torpedoed. Such a terrible loss. Praying every day for peace.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's good to know the Captain's record was cleared. Now i wonder what astounding discoveries they might make at the wreckage site.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, Kay! Quick message, because I haven't read your post. You commented on ~ thank goodness!! ~ A draft that I had never published and accidentally published. I had a major panic attack because I thought I had screwed up a published post and lost all much of the text and all the photos, maps, and comments. I have since realized that instead I accidentally published a draft, which I have now unpublished. So your comment and my panicked reply are also gone. If this comment seems crazy, sorry! I'm still calming down. Will be back!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've been away from Blogland for a while, but catching up now. There is something endlessly fascinating about wrecks, and recovering them, but like you I think mainly of those who perished.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi, Kay! The story of the USS Indianapolis is tragic. I'm glad the captain's name was cleared, but it would have been better if that had occurred before McVay took his life. Kudos to Hunter Scott for his interest in the survivors and the following results. I had a neighbor in Westport, White Bay, Newfoundland who had three ships torpedoed out from under him during the WW II action in the Pacific. He had zero desire to ever leave Newfoundland once the war was over. I love how you remind us of our heroes. Hope all is well with you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Again I learn something new and real from your blog! I am so sorry for the Captain. After reading the links it sounds as if he was collateral damage for someone's grudge against his father. So very unjust. But how heartening that his men believed him innocent and a young boy fought so hard for him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don't know anything about this, but I am intrigued now and will have to investigate. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I had read online news accounts of the ship's discovery and those did tell about what happened to its captain. Thank you, Kay, for providing more information as I had nit read your earlier posts before. It is unfortunate that it took so long for a wrong to be righted.

    ReplyDelete