In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

by Doug Stanton

  McVay recorded all these sightings: Yankee, 1978, “The Last Secret Voyage of the USS Indianapolis,” Evan Wylie.

  CHAPTER SEVEN: SHARK ATTACK

  Interviews: Giles McCoy, Richard Stephens, Dr. Lewis Haynes, Robert Gause, Jack Cassidy, Jack Miner, Mike Kuyrla, Bob McGuiggan, Felton Outland, Ed Brown, Harlan Twible, John Spinelli, Curt Newport, Dr. Julie Johnson, Dr. Terry Taylor.

  p. 157 Those sailors who were naked: Ron and Valerie Taylor, introduction, Sharks: Silent Hunters of the Deep, pp. 76, 100, 140.

  p. 158 Present-day wisdom: Military Medicine, vol. 155, August 1990. “Shark Repellent: Not Yet, Maybe Never,” Capt. H. David Baldridge Jr., p. 358.

  In 1943, the navy had set out: Ibid., p. 358.

  No evidence has ever: David H. Baldridge, Contributions from the Mote Marine Laboratory, vol. 1, number 2, 1974. “Shark Attack: A Program of Data Reduction and Analysis,” pp. 186-87; Victor G. Springer and Joy P. Gold, Sharks in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book, pp. 82, 127-8, 135.

  p. 160 As the water flashed: Washington Post, August 6, 1980, “Terror of Shark and Sea, 35 Years After,” (byline: Chip Brown).

  Capable of bursts of speed: Springer and Gold, Sharks in Question, p. 59, 82; Samuel H. Gruber, editor, Discovering Sharks, p. 36.

  p. 161 Around Captain McVay’s raft: Narrative by: Captain Charles B. McVay.

  p. 162 On Tuesday, Mc Vay: Ibid.; Court Martial.

  p. 163 At this latitude: Matthew C. Barron, NAVOCEANO: Oceanographer and Ocean Services Division Officer, Naval Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center/Joint Typhoon Warning Center; USS Register (APD 92), Deck Log—Additional Remarks, August 3–7, 1945.

  p. 164 Its beaches had been stormed: Dunnigan and Nofi, Victory at Sea, p. 577.

  On Leyte there were two: Philippine Sea Frontier. From: Captain Alfred M. Granum, U.S. Navy. To: Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas. Signed: Alfred M. Granum. Dated: 1 September 1945; U.S. Naval Operating Base, Navy 3964. From: Lieutenant Commander Jules C. Sancho. To: Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas. Signed: Jules C. Sancho. Dated: 31 August 1945; Court of Inquiry; Progress Report (NIG); Facts and Discussion of Facts (NIG); Discussion of Facts (NIG); Expected Arrivals and Departures, 31 July–2 August 1945.

  p. 166 Initiated by Chief of Naval Operations: Buell, Master of the Sea, p. 328.

  p. 167 Of the 1,196 crew: Court Martial.

  p. 170 Captain Mc Vay was no quitter: Narrative by: Captain Charles B. McVay; Al Havins, personal interview; Dan Kurzman, Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, p. 115.

  p. 173 One boy chewed: Yankee, 1978, “The Last Secret Voyage of the USS Indianapolis,” Evan Wylie.

  CHAPTER EIGHT: GENOCIDE

  Interviews: Dr. Lewis Haynes, Giles McCoy, Mike Kuryla, Felton Outland, Harlan Twible, John Spinelli, Ed Brown, Robert Gause, Jack Cassidy, Gus Kay, Gordon Linke, Winthrop Smith, Jr., Billie Havins, Dr. Julie Johnson.

  p. 183 McVay’s four rafts: Narrative by: Captain Charles B. McVay; Personal Narrative of Captain Charles B. McVay; Al Havins, personal interview; Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Al Havins.

  p. 187 One boy got in his car: Newcomb, Abandon Ship!, p. 131.

  p. 196 Back on Leyte: Leyte Gulf Expected Arrivals and Departures, 31 July–2 August 1945.

  In an air-conditioned bunker: Sweeney with Antonucci and Antonucci, War’s End, p. 1; Knebel and Bailey, No High Ground, p. 164; Richard B. Frank, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, p. 261.

  CHAPTER NINE: DEAD DRIFT

  Interviews: Giles McCoy, Dr. Lewis Haynes, Robert Gause, Jack Cassidy, Ed Brown, Jack Miner, John Spinelli, Bob McGuiggan, Felton Outland, Gus Kay, Harlan Twible, Hilton D. Logan, Irving Lefkovitz, Curt Newport, Martin Williams.

  p. 201 Something had gone wrong: Information about Gwinn’s patrol and rescue effort is drawn from Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, pp. 90–95; Wilbur Gwinn speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1960; Correspondence with Norma Gwinn; Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945. Signed M. S. Langford; Court of Inquiry; United States Pacific Fleet, Air Force, Patrol Bombing Squadron 152. Statement Concerning Sighting of Survivors of CA-35 U.S.S. Indianapolis on 2 August 1945. Signed Wilbur C. Gwinn. 3 August 1945.

  The plane, like the Miss Deal: “American Aircraft of World War II,” www.ixpress.com/ag1caf/usplanes/american.htm;http://www.usplanes/aircraft/ventura.htm.

  p. 203 At about the same time: Court of Inquiry.

  Gwinn leveled the PV-1: Statement Concerning Sighting of Survivors of CA-35 U.S.S. Indianapolis on 2 August 1945; Herbert Hickman, “Six Most Important Words of Your Life,” courtesy of John Wassell, “Mission Accomplished … But at a Price”; Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945; Questions asked by Correspondents of Lt. (jg) W. G. Gwinn, USNR, Lt. R. A. Marks, USNR, and Lt. Commander G. C. Atteberry, 6 August 1945; Court of Inquiry; Dispatch 020125; Wilbur Gwinn speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, 1960.

  p. 208 Meanwhile, Gwinn was trying: Statement Concerning Sighting of Survivors of CA-35 USS Indianapolis on 2 August 1945; Gwinn speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, 1960; Dispatch 020245; Questions Asked by Correspondents; Sighting of Survivors of USS Indianapolis; Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945; Court of Inquiry.

  p. 210 First to receive the message: Court of Inquiry; Dispatch 020409; Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, pp. 99–100.

  p. 211 As the rescue effort heated up: Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945; John Wassell, “Mission Accomplished … But at a Price.”

  Lieutenant Commander George Atteberry: Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2-7 August 1945; Court of Inquiry; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945.

  p. 212 The plane belonged: New York Times, “Adrian Marks, 81, World War II Navy Pilot”; Adrian Marks speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, 1960; John Wassell, “Mission Accomplished … But at a Price”; U.S.S. Cecil J. Doyle (DE 368). Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) August 2–4, 1945. Signed by W. G. Claytor, Jr. Undated; The Washington Post, “No-Nonsense Lawyer Claytor Knows When to Bend the Rules”; “Selected Speeches of R. Adrian Marks”; Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Adrian Marks, 1990; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945.

  p. 213 Meanwhile, CINCPAC: Dispatch 020617.

  Then, in the midafternoon: Leyte Gulf Expected Arrivals and Departures, July 31-August 2, 1945; Dispatch 020848; Dispatch 030041; Court of Inquiry; Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, p. 100.

  p. 214 Lieutenant Adrian Marks: Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945.

  At about the same time, the destroyers: Dispatch 020601.

  p. 215 Marks knew the situation: Dispatch 020625; Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Adrian Marks; Adrian Marks speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, 1960; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945.

  p. 216 Earlier in the day: Dispatch 020516; Dispatch 020747; Dispatch 020400; Dispatch 020756.

  p. 217 Shortly before Marks landed: Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2–7 August 1945; Record of Flight Operations in Search for Survivors from USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 2 August 1945; Joseph M. Lalley, Search and Rescue; Bill MacDermott, A Walk Through the Valley: The History of the 3rd Emergency Rescue Squadron.

  Around 7:15 p.m.: 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron, Flight Detachment, APO 265. Subject: Rescue Operations 2
August through 5 August. Signed: Lt. Richard C. Alcorn. Dated: 6 August 1945; 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron, Flight Detachment, APO 265. Subject: Search Operations of 7 August, 1945. To: Sub Area Operations. Signed Lt. Richard Alcorn. Dated: 8 August 1945; Kurzman, Fatal Voyage, p. 174.

  p. 219 Circling overhead, Lieutenant Commander Atteberry: Sighting of Survivors of U.S.S. Indianapolis: Participation of Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris, 2-7 August 1945; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945; Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Adrian Marks; “Selected Speeches of R. Adrian Marks”; Kurzman, Fatal Voyage, p. 167; U.S.S. Cecil J. Doyle (DE 368). Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) August 2–4, 1945; Adrian Marks speech transcript, Survivors’ Reunion, 1960.

  p. 222 Captain Graham Claytor: USS Cecil J. Doyle (DE 368), Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA 35), August 2–4, 1945; Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, p. 59; Correspondence with Ruby and Albert Harp; USS Madison (DD 425), Narrative of Search Operations, 2 to 5 August 1945. Signed: Donald W. Todd. Dated: 6 August 1945; USS Dufilho (DE 423), Rescue—Survivors Search, August 3–6, 1945. Signed: A. H. Nienau. Dated: 9 August 1945. During the predawn hours: Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, pp. 81–85, 161.

  p. 224 At 4 A.M., the searchlight: The Saturday Evening Post, August 6, 1955, “We Prayed While 833 Died,” Lewis L. Haynes.

  CHAPTER TEN: FINAL HOURS

  Interviews: Dr. Lewis Haynes, John Spinelli, Giles McCoy, Felton Outland, Bob McGuiggan, Gus Kay, Bill Drayton, Curt Newport, Peter Wren.

  p. 227 Captain Claytor: Kurzman, Fatal Voyage, p. 176; Dispatches 021342, 021500.

  The news was a stunning blow: Thomas B. Buell, Master of the Sea, p. 327.

  On the same day: Weintraub, The Last Great Victory, p. 392.

  p. 228 By this time, the last; Knebel and Bailey, No High Ground, p. 100; Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, p. 696; Weintraub, The Last Great Victory, p. 387.

  Back in the waters: U.S.S. Cecil J. Doyle (DE 368), Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) August 2–4, 1945; Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, pp. 58-91; U.S.S. Madison (DD425), Narrative of Search Operations 2 to 5 August 1945. Signed: Donald W. Todd. Dated: 6 August 1945; 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron, Flight Detachment, APO 265. Rescue operations 2 Aug. through 5 Aug. Signed: Lt. Richard C. Alcom Dated: 6 August 1945; Questions asked by Correspondents, 6 August 1945; Correspondence with Ruby and Albert Harp; Record of Flight Operations in Search for Survivors from the USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 2 August 1945. Some of the boys pulled aboard: Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, p. 157.

  p. 229 The rescue ships were a mess: Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, pp. 70, 162–66; Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, p. 108. The crew of the Doyle: “Selected Speeches of R. Adrian Marks”; Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Adrian Marks.

  p. 230 The following order was relayed: Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, p. 111; Progress Report (NIG); Dispatch 031406. By the early morning: Personal Narrative of Captain Charles B. McVay; Narrative by: Captain Charles B. McVay; Military Heritage, June 2000, “Survivors in the Water: Saving the Indy’s Crew,” interview with Captain William C. Meyer, USN, (ret); Al Havins personal interview; Bill Van Dallen, videotaped interview with Al Havins.

  p. 231 McVay looked up in surprise: Roy McLendon, Jr., “The Rescue: The Rest of the Story,” Cryptolog, Spring 1984, Jim Anderson, NCVA, “Tragic Indianapolis Story Told,” “Survivors in the Water: Saving the Indy’s Crew,” interview with Captain William C. Meyer, USN (ret.) Military Heritage, June 2000; Dispatch 030855.

  p. 233 Shortly thereafter, the Madison: USS Madison (DD 425), Narrative of Search Operations, 2 to 5 August 1945; USS Register (APD 92), Search Operations of USS Register (APD 92) for Survivors of USS Indianapolis. Signed: J. R. Furman. Dated: 8 August 1945; USS Ringness (APD 100) Deck Log—Remarks Sheet, 1-5 August 1945; Dispatch 030150.

  p. 236 It has previously been reported: Military Heritage, June 2000, “Survivors in the Water: Saving the Indy’s Crew,” interview with Captain William C. Meyer, USN (ret.).

  By the following day: USS Madison (DD 425), Narrative of Search Operations, 2 to 5 August 1945; Record of Flight Operations in Search for Survivors from USS Indianapolis (CA-35), 2–8 August 1945.

  p. 237 The casualties were astounding: U.S. Naval Base Hospital No. 18, Report of Casualties. From: Charles B. McVay, III. To: The Secretary of the Navy. Dated: 9 August 1945.

  In all, the Cecil J. Doyle: Commander Western Carolines Sub Area, Rescue and Search for Survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis (CA-35) and Recovery, Identification, and Burial of Bodies, 15 August 1945; Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, p. 161. Adrian Marks would be haunted: “Selected Speeches of R. Adrian Marks.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: AFTERMATH

  Interviews: Giles McCoy, Dr. Lewis Haynes, Harlan Twible, Mike Kuryla, Bob McGuiggan, Jack Cassidy, Ed Brown, Donald Allen, Bill Drayton, Jack Miner, Richard Stephens, Gus Kay, Lee Albright, Gordon Linke, Jocelyn Linke, Scott Linke, Winthrop Smith Jr., Ed Stevens.

  p. 241 “All bodies were in extremely bad condition”: USS Helm (DD 388), Search for Survivors, Period 4–5 August 1945—Report of. Signed: A. F. Hollingsworth. Dated: 6 August 1945.

  p. 242 As the USS Ringness had made its way: “Survivors in the Water: Saving the Indy’s Crew,” interview with Captain William C. Meyer, USN (ret.), Military Heritage, June 2000.

  p. 243 “What would be the normal time”: As quoted in Newcomb, Abandon Ship!, pp. 168–69.

  A member of its assembly team: Knebel and Bailey, No High Ground, p. 114.

  p. 244 Those rescued by the Bassett. Wren, Those in Peril on the Sea, p. 119.

  p. 245 On August 9: United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief. Subject: Court of Inquiry to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the sinking of the USS Indianapolis (CA 35), and the delay in reporting the loss of that ship. Signed: C. W. Nimitz. Dated: 9 August 1945.

  p. 246 Minutes before Truman’s announcement: New York Times, August 15, 1945. Weintraub, The Last Great Victory, p. 616; Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, p. 120.

  p. 247 The New York Times called: August 17, 1945, “The Indianapolis.”

  p. 249 Captain McVay had flown: Moore, Goodbye Indy Maru, p. 162; Service Record: McVay, Charles Butler; Newcomb, Abandon Ship!, p. 186.

  On November 29: Charges and Specifications in Case of Captain Charles B. McVay III, U.S. Navy. To: Captain Thomas J. Ryan Jr., U.S. Navy Judge Advocate, General Court Martial, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Signed by James Forrestal. Admiral Nimitz and Admiral Spruance: Fleet Admiral, U.S. Navy, Memorandum regarding Court of Inquiry to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the sinking of the USS Indianapolis (CA 35), and the delay in reporting the loss of that ship. Signed: C. W. Nimitz. Dated: 6 September 1945; Buell, Master of the Sea, pp. 328–29.

  p. 250 Unbelievably, the navy: The Naval Inspector General, Investigation of the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Delay in Reporting the Loss of that Ship. Signed: C. P. Snyder. Dated: Received 7 January 1946; Facts and Discussion of Facts (NIG); Navy Department, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Memorandum to the Secretary of the Navy. Subject: Charles B. McVay, 3rd, captain, U.S. Navy, trial of by general court martial. Signed: O. S. Colclough. Undated.

  McVay had less than a week: Progress of Indianapolis case. The Naval Inspector General. Signed: C. P. Snyder. Dated: 10 November, 1945. Includes pencilled notation by E. J. King; Hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, September 14, 1999.

  Before the trial: as quoted in Newcomb, Abandon Ship!, p. 186.

  p. 251 Time magazine suggested: December 10, 1945, “The Captain Stands Accused.”

  McVay sat stiffly: Bill Van Daalen, Video-documentary, 1992, “Indianapolis: Ship of Doom.”

  p. 252 What McVay didn’t know: Richard A. von Doenhoff, “ULTRA and the Sinking of USS Indianapolis;” Progress Report of the USS Indianap
olis Case (NIG); Investigation of the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Delay in Reporting the Loss of that Ship, 7 January 1946.

  It’s unlikely that: Richard A. von Doenhoff, “ULTRA and the Sinking of USS Indianapolis;” Progress Report of the USS Indianapolis Case (NIG).

  p. 253 Newsweek carried an editorial: December 24, 1945, “A Jap Bears Witness.”

  On the floor of the House: Lech, All the Drowned Sailors, pp. 141–42; Department of the Navy, Office of the Judge Advocate General. Con. Res. 116: “To expunge the testimony of an alien enemy officer from the naval records.” Signed James Snyder. Undated.

  Nevertheless, the prosecution: Court Martial; Time, December 24, 1945, “‘Such Grotesque Proceedings’”; Newsweek, December 24, 1945, “A Jap Bears Witness.”

  In view of his outstanding: General Court Martial in the Case of Captain Charles B. McVay, 3rd, U.S. Navy, convened 3 December 1945 at the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. by order of the Secretary of the Navy. From: The Chief of Naval Personnel. To: the Secretary of the Navy. Dated: 22 January 1946; Department of the Navy, Office of the JudgeAdvocate General Signed: O. S. Colclough. Dated: 23 January 1946; Department of the Navy. Record of the Proceedings in the General Court Martial in the Case of Commanding Officer, USS Indianapolis—Captain Charles B. McVay III, U.S.N. Signed: E. J. King. Dated: 25 January 1946; Secretary of the Navy, “The record of the proceedings in the foregoing general court-martial case …” Signed: James Forrestal. Date: Illegible.