One of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis, James O'Donnell, just passed away yesterday, at the age of 92. He and his wife just had their 70th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve. There is a wonderful inspiring story about the survivors of the Indianapolis and the very hard battle that they fought to clear the name of the commander of the Indianapolis. May I be so bold as to ask you to read this post. It is about the Indianapolis , something that I wrote at the very beginning of my blog, from September of 2011. I hope that we will always remember and honor those who served on the USS Indianapolis.
You may also go to the website for the Indianapolis survivors by clicking here.
Ooh, thanks for sharing; I'm off to read this!
ReplyDeleteDid you remember the story from the movie, Jaws? Pretty incredible that the young man watching that movie wrote to the survivors and actually met them and became good friends with them.
DeleteI know- I read it on Susie's blog. I feel sorry for his wife- they have been together so many years- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteIf you get a chance, click on that link and read my post from 2011. They are supposed to be making a movie about Hunter Scott and his close relationship with the survivors of the Indianapolis and their efforts in clearing the name of their beloved skipper.
DeleteHello Kay:
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed an amazing story. We are ashamed to say that, until now, we had no idea of the story, nor fate, of the Indianapolis. What an appalling, largely to be avoided, waste of human life. And such injustice.
It is an amazing story and one that I am ashamed to tell you that most Americans do not know. This book is one that I would recommend: "In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors" by Doug Stanton.
DeleteThank you so much for your comment, Jane & Lance.
What a story, Kay. There is certainly blame to be laid, but not on the captain.Such a tragedy that so many men were killed.
ReplyDeleteIt IS an incredible story. The US Navy actually brought the Japanese commander over from Japan to testify against the Captain of the US ship that he had torpedoed. This was something that bothered the survivors for so many years, and I know they were grateful to the young boy, Hunter Scott (which came from watching the movie, "Jaws"!) for all his efforts in bringing this to light.
DeleteA powerful and insightful story about determination and will! Thanks for sharing this Kay. I have not heard about this incident till now. My Dad is a vet from WWII, he was in the Canadian Army. He is one of the few remaining survivors of that war in Canada. He is 96. The veterans hospitals here are now addressing the needs of the Korean War vets as well. These men and women have done so much to get us to where we are today in our democracies.
ReplyDeleteJim,
DeleteAs beautifully as you write, I would suggest to you that you ask your Dad of his memories and write a book. There, it is just a suggestion but I think that you could and should!
The Korean War...my mother's first husband died in that war (which was never officially declared a war!) and I grew up seeing the folded American flag and Purple Heart.
Thank you for your comment!
Kay, I did not know about Captain McVay. Thank you for adding more to the story of the USS Indianapolis. I read about O'Donnell and it touched my heart. I love our old servicemen, as well as our troops now. The post you made in 2011 was really interesting, loved it. xoxox, Susie
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susie. There is always more to the story than we are allowed to read in newspapers and we must delve further to know the whole story. I wish everyone knew this whole story behind the Indianapolis...
Deleteoh dear, there is more I want to say about this. I might have to do another post about it. Stay tuned!
My local branch library has this book. I don't even have to wait for them to bring it in from another branch. I plan to pick it up today, Kay. I knew nothing about this story. Thank you for blogging about it. Twice.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristi! I hope you will read this book! WAit til you read about Adrian Marks, I think he is such a hero. They should make a movie about this, so kids will know about true heroism!
DeleteI hadn't heard about the last survivor passing away. That's so sad. I've often thought about how scary that must've been ~ floating around in shark-infested water for that long. I can't even imagine that kind of fear. I took a peek around the survivor website ~ thanks for sharing, Kay!
ReplyDeleteBecause I spoke with World War II vets so often, I feel as if I know all of them. It's funny, I don't think of them as old men, I have read that Laura Hillenbrand felt the same way as she was writing "Unbroken". Perhaps she and I have this in common, we have read so much of those days, that we still see these men as young.
DeleteThe generation is passing quickly, and it's very sad. Thank you for reminding us to cherish them while we can.
ReplyDeleteThe monument to the World War II vets in Washington, D.C. looks very nice, but it was built a little too late for most of them.
DeleteThank you for sharing this Kay!
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that we are losing living connections to this history.
I had a neighbor in Westport, Newfoundland who had three ships torpedoed out from under him in WWII. He was quite happy never to leave Westport for the rest of his life.
I have my WWII naval disaster that haunts me too - I referred to it in answering a comment you left on my blog. One of the reasons Cassie Brown wrote her book was to speak up and try to clear the names of some of the men involved in the disaster. In my disaster, the navy simply stopped the legal process with no resolution because of the pressures of war. I'll be posting about this in the future.
Sometimes it's the public that has to keep speaking up.
Have a good weekend!
Thanks, for your comment. There are many, many stories like this that most people have never heard about...I really want to read that book, "Standing Into Danger" by Cassie Brown. I will let you know after I have read it.
DeleteThere are a lot of stories where, sometimes, things have to be put right, and I so admire those who try to do so.
My Dad was a WW11 vet, and still I did not know much about the Indianapolis' history.
ReplyDeleteOnce you start reading these true stories, you will find that you have no time for fiction. That is what has happened in my case anyway!
DeleteHi, I found this blog while searching on the internet. I am the granddaughter of one of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis. There seems to be some confusion about the news article published earlier this year...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/sole-uss-indianapolis-survivor-35-year-firefighter-dies-at-92
If you read it carefully, you will realize that this was the last survivor who actually lived in Indianapolis. Not the last survivor in the world. There are still a few survivors alive, including my grandfather. In fact he is in Indianapolis right now attending the last ever USS Indianapolis Survivors Reunion. A day will come that the last survivor will be gone, but no yet :)
Thank you very much for your comment and I wonder, could you please let your grandfather know that I am doing my best to make sure people know the story of the USS Indianapolis and therefore, will honor and remember them?
DeleteI have changed the wording in my post to reflect your information. Thank you very much for leaving me this comment.
To all the WWII vets, you will always be remembered as the greatist of us.To us,all vets living and past on are Heros.
ReplyDeleteTo all the WWII vets, you will always be remembered as the greatist of us.To us,all vets living and past on are Heros.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for your comment and I see it came over twice, but that's okay with me, it can't be repeated often enough to suit me!
DeleteAs a travel agent, it was my great honor to speak with so many vets arranging their reunions with their buddies, I loved to talk with them and to find out about their service.