by Lynn Vincent
Hashimoto had seen lights twinkling: The account of Hashimoto at Pearl Harbor is based on his recollections in SUNK, 27–32.
Hashimoto developed the view that one radar set: Hashimoto’s fight for sub modernization is related in SUNK, 164–75.
Chapter 14
On June 30, he received his first letter: HENRY LETTERS. June 30, 1945.
Katherine, thought Henry’s model: MARU, 99.
he had written to Jane about everything: See generally, HENRY LETTERS.
turn it down so fast her head would spin: HENRY LETTERS. Letter of July 26, 1945.
Ensign John Woolston was glad to be aboard: LEGACY and other interviews with John Woolston by the authors 2012–17.
actually his second time aboard: Ibid.
Woolston’s immediate boss was Moore: Ibid.
quadrupled to more than forty thousand: “Mare Island History.” City of Vallejo, California, website. Accessed online December 12, 2017. http://www.visitvallejo.com/about-vallejo/mare-island-history.
Chapter 15
he sat in the Washington, D.C., offices: Departure Memorandum written 9 July 1945. Papers of Robert Furman, Library of Congress.
“Derry is wiring Oppie to expect me”: Robert Furman handwritten account of bomb transport, undated. Papers of Robert Furman, Library of Congress (FURMAN HW); Departure Memorandum written July 10, 1945, Papers of Robert Furman, Library of Congress (FDN).
final stockpile of missing uranium: HEISENBERG, 417.
Harry Truman, was in the loop now: Norris, Robert S. Racing for the Bomb: The True Story of General Leslie R. Groves, the Man behind the Birth of the Atomic Age. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2002. (RACING.)
circulated a petition among Manhattan Project scientists: Gest, Howard. “The July 1945 Szilard Petition on the Atomic Bomb.” Departments of Biology, and History & Philosophy of Science. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. A memoir by a signer at the Oak Ridge Laboratory.
Alsos agents detained Kurt Diebner: HEISENBERG, 425.
He tried to relax: Robert Furman’s writing on transporting the atomic bomb aboard USS Indianapolis, undated. Papers of Robert F. Furman, Library of Congress. (FOI.)
“We’ll be looking for the shipment”: Ibid.
the cargo was “priceless”: Ibid.
spending time in close company with the package: Ibid.
Oppie suggested they chat: The account of Furman’s meeting with Oppenheimer and Nolan is based on Furman’s written account of his journey from Washington, D.C., to Tinian Island via Santa Fe and Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Mare Island and Hunter’s Point, California. Private Papers of Robert Furman. Library of Congress. (FOI.)
two old-fashioned ice cream freezers: Ibid. Historians have noted that a manifest for the truck that would carry the bomb components away from Los Alamos described the shipment as three crates containing, in total, several tons of material. Furman’s account of two canisters and a single crate matches the eyewitness accounts of the Indianapolis crew, including Harrell, DeBernardi, Erwin, Paroubek, Woolston, and scores of others.
one-half of the first combat-ready atomic bomb: FOI, 5.
have it carried aboard with their luggage: FOI.
Chapter 16
On July 12, McVay learned: “Personal Narrative” by Captain Charles B. McVay, III, USN, Sinking of USS Indianapolis, recorded 27 September 1945. Command File World War II. Indiana Historical Society. (MCVAY NARRATIVE.)
the Navy representative on the Manhattan Project’s: “William R. Purnell.” Atomic Heritage Foundation. Accessed June 14, 2016. www.atomicheritage.com.
Purnell tapped Deak Parsons: Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987, 477. (RHODES.)
the bomb might have the power to prevent an invasion: Frank, Richard B. “Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire.” New York: Random House, 1999, 242. (DOWNFALL.)
Okinawa had cost America dearly: “Battle of Okinawa.” Battle of Okinawa. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm. (PHASES.)
wanted to prevent “another Okinawa”: United States Department & State Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers: The Conference of Berlin (the Potsdam Conference), 1945. Vol. 1. Washington D.C.: U.S. Govt Printing Office, 1945.
allow invasion plans to continue: Vasey, Lloyd R. “President Truman and the Atomic Bomb: Setting the Record Straight.” Center for Strategic and International Studies. Accessed December 13, 2017. https://www.csis.org/analysis/pacnet-45-president-truman-and-atomic-bomb-%E2%80%93-setting-record-straight.
Groves felt air transport more inherently risky: FOI.
Indianapolis would depart the next day: MCVAY NARRATIVE, 1.
Katherine came undone: The account of Katherine’s upset over Indy’s departure is based on: MARU, 138.
Chapter 17
Dr. Lewis Haynes puffed a stogie: Stanton, Doug. In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors. New York: H. Holt, 2001, 29. (IHW.)
Coxswain Louis Erwin mustered with a working party: The account of Erwin and DeBernardi is based on LEGACY interviews (Erwin) and the men’s own accounts in 317.
shoulder each end of a metal pole: 317.
McVay greeted Furman and Nolan: FOI.
have the shipment bolted into place: Ibid.
Harrell stepped into the port hangar: Harrell, Edgar, and David Harrell. Out of the Depths: An Unforgettable WWII Story of Survival, Courage, and the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis. 2nd ed.: Bethany House, 2014, 52–53. (DEPTHS.)
“some of you ain’t ever gonna see it again”: 317, 175.
AUGUST 1997, U.S. FLEET ACTIVITIES, SASEBO, JAPAN
Commander William Toti issued an order: Account of Toti’s port calls at Sasebo and Yokosuka based on interviews with Toti, 2012–2017.
Since you were never able to decommission: William Toti, Letter to Survivors, 1997.
BOOK 2: THE MISSION
Chapter 1
For months, Captain William Smedburg had been preparing detailed charts: Investigation of Sinking of USS Indianapolis. By order of the Chief of Naval Operations, 6 December 1945. Smedburg testimony, 2. (CONEY.)
the combined intelligence power: Holmes, W. J. Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press 1979 (e-Book), 212. (HOLMES.)
churning out two million printed sheets: HOLMES, 229.
High rank alone could not earn access: Ibid., 62.
Japanese had proven they could change their code: Ibid., 63.
purple lines pocked with blank underscores: Description of ULTRA cards is based on the authors’ examination of hundreds of ULTRA cards on file at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Office of Naval Intelligence, Intercepted Enemy Radio Traffic & Related Documentation, [Japan] Naval Vessels. Record Group 38, Boxes 1386–87. (ULTRA 1 and ULTRA 2. See Bibliography for a full description of this record.)
codebreakers, who were known as “magicians”: Frank, Richard B. “Why Truman Dropped the Bomb.” From the August 8, 2005, Issue: Sixty Years after Hiroshima, We Now Have the Secret Intercepts That Shaped His Decision. Aug 8, 2005, Vol. 10, No. 44.
“From Captain Sub I-58”: Excerpts from the I-58 ULTRA intercept are taken from a card filed in ULTRA 1, dated 15 July 1945.
Smedburg . . . had been tracking the Tamon group since July 13: The authors found that the earliest appearance of the Tamon group in ULTRA traffic was 13 July 1945.
Carter initialed the intel concerning the Tamon group: CONEY. Layton testimony, 529. Carter testimony, 594.
Chapter 2
“Nearly laid us down”: LEGACY: L. D. Cox interviews. Survivors Robert Witzig and A. C. King also said Indy was nearly put on her side while carrying the atomic bomb components.
men even had a betting pool going: LEGACY: testimony of multiple survivors.
to check on his Army guests: Robert Furman’s writing on t
ransporting the atomic bomb aboard USS Indianapolis, undated. Papers of Robert F. Furman, Library of Congress. (FOI.)
what have we got that’s under control of the president: “Oral History with Capt. (ret.) Lewis Haynes, MD, USN,” U.S. Navy Medical Department Oral History Program, June 5, 12, 22, 1995. 17. (BUMED.)
Operated on this morning. Diagnosis not yet complete: RHODES, 685–86.
a man with an aggressive agenda who was smart as hell: McCullough, David G. Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992, 419. (TRUMAN.) Also: The History Channel. Accessed online December 9, 2017. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-records-impressions-of-stalin.
Was this awful weapon the fulfillment of that prophecy?: Ferrell, Robert, ed. Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman. Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, MO. Truman’s July 25, 1945 diary entry reads: “We met at 11 A.M. today. That is Stalin, Churchill and the U.S. President. But I had a most important session with Lord Mountbattan & General Marshall before then. We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fiery destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.”
Chapter 3
The men discussed a range of potential emergencies: The account of the discussion between Indy’s officers and Furman and Nolan is based on Furman’s writing about the transport of the bomb parts. FOI.
down by the head: That is, to sink bow first.
a special ceremony for his six suicide pilots: SUNK, 214.
I-58 slipped down to the Bungo channel: Ibid., 215.
the enemy had sunk nearly a hundred ships: Pacific Dispatches, Commander in Chief Chart Room Files, July 1–August 15, 1945. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (CHART ROOM JULY.)
His orders were clear: SUNK, 216.
Chapter 4
Lebow almost got into a fistfight: LEGACY: Lebow interviews.
the whole lot of them were “green, green, green”: MARU, 134.
Lebow watched the attack: LEGACY: Lebow interviews.
Furman and Nolan slept and sat with the bomb: Furman FOI.
a most unenviable assignment: Ibid.
formed friendships with several Indy officers: Ibid.
The decoy crate seemed to be working well: Ibid.
beautiful screen siren Hedy Lamarr!: FOI. Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematical genius who lent her considerable talent to the war effort by working alongside Albert Einstein to help design torpedo proximity fuses.
Chapter 5
the whole voyage in 74.5 hours: Lech, Raymond B. All the Drowned Sailors. New York: Stein and Day, 1982, 8. (ADS.)
“I’ve got a corpsman with a fractured leg”: BUMED, 18.
well-guarded crate was awfully important: Ibid.
joint intelligence center issued a ten-page: “Ultra and the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis: A Paper Given to the Eleventh Naval History Symposium.” 1993: Richard Von Doenhoff. (U&S.)
make the transit from Pearl to Tinian at twenty-four knots: Lech, Raymond B. All the Drowned Sailors. New York: Stein and Day, 1982, 6.
arrived off Saipan with Spruance on her bridge: QUIET, 304. In a controversial decision, Spruance chose to remain off Saipan in order to guard against a Japanese flanking attack, rather than pursue the Japanese carrier fleet, which had been spotted within range of Admiral Marc Mitscher’s air forces. Spruance’s contemporaries, including Mitscher, lamented an opportunity lost to deal a potentially game-changing blow to the Japanese carrier fleet. Though Japanese aviation losses in the battle rendered enemy carriers all but impotent, Spruance later regretted his decision, which, ironically altered U.S. doctrine with respect to Japanese threats against American amphibious operations. According to Spruance biographer Thomas Buell (The Quiet Warrior), Japanese commanders later correctly surmised that American commanders would aggressively pursue the enemy fleet. Thus, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey charged off after a decoy carrier, allowing the Japanese to flank him—the exact scenario Spruance had been trying to avoid at Saipan.
Since he was posing as a gunnery officer: Interview with Robert Furman by author Richard Newcomb, Hotel-Stacy Trent, May 17, 1957.
his habit of highlighting privileges: 317, 38–59.
“About this big”: LEGACY: Donald Blum interviews.
McCall had spent the last three years: LEGACY: Don McCall interviews. Also: telephone interview, February 18, 2017, and 317, 294–97.
Chapter 6
Underhill picked up a bogie: The account of the sinking of USS Underhill is based on: Crum, Jay. “Brief History of the USS Underhill.” About USS Underhill. Accessed October 5, 2016. http://www.ussunderhill.org/html/about_uss_underhill.html. Also: Dace, Stanley W., Chief Boatswain’s Mate. “Brief History of the USS Underhill DE-682.” About USS Underhill. http://www.ussunderhill.org/html/about_the_uss_underhill.html. (UNDERHILL.)
delivered more than 550 destroyer escorts: “Destroyer Escorts.” Destroyer History Foundation. Accessed October 19, 2016. http://destroyerhistory.org/de/.
In ULTRA traffic, the sinking of Underhill: ULTRA 2. CONEY, 2. Smedburg testimony.
TCKs all worked perfectly. CONEY, 366–67. Hart testimony.
one-man dental assembly line: Henry, Earl O., Sr., letters to his wife, Jane Henry, May 22, 1944–July 27, 1945.
McVay kept himself occupied: 317, 394.
lost two friends in the consuming blaze: 317. Paroubek, 395.
Chapter 7
leeward edge called Tinian Town Bay: Podoll, Ensign Erling. “LCTs 354 & 991 at Tinian.” (PODOLL.)
Paroubek, stood at the rail: 317. Paroubek, 395.
pier beyond rippled with military police: PODOLL.
“You men follow me”: 317. Paroubek, 395.
“That looks like it has to do with radiation”: Ibid.
“Potsdam Declaration,” dictating terms: “Potsdam Declaration: Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Issued, at Potsdam, July 26, 1945.” National Science Digital Library. Accessed at http://nsdl.oercommons.org/courses/hiroshima-remembered-com-documents-about-the-bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/view, July 27, 2017.
catastrophically misread by Japan: LONGEST, 9.
the moment he saw the canisters: The account of Woolston’s epiphany at Tinian regarding the nature of Furman’s cargo is based on LEGACY: John Woolston interviews, and subsequent telephone, email, and personal interviews conducted by the authors.
“Look at all that brass”: The account of Umenhoffer at Tinian is based on LEGACY interviews, and additional telephone and personal interviews conducted by Sara Vladic.
assembled aboard Indianapolis to talk strategy: QUIET, 320.
climbed down a rope ladder: Furman FOI.
Chapter 8
the perfect South Pacific moorage: Description of Apra Harbor courtesy of Captain William Toti, USN (ret.).
At Tinian, McVay had received orders: From Port Director, Guam, to Commanding Officer, USS Indianapolis (CA 35). Routing Instructions. 28 July 1945. Lech, Raymond B. All the Drowned Sailors. New York: Stein and Day, 1982, 8. (ADS.)
Copies of the CincPac message: Ibid.
McCormick’s radiomen made a decryption error: McCormick, Rear Admiral L. D. to Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Subject: Court of Inquiry regarding loss of USS Indianapolis (CA 35). 1. Indiana Historical Society.
planned to call on a classmate of his: Charles B. McVay III, handwritten draft of speech for the Indianapolis survivors’ first reunion. July 30, 1960. 2. Courtesy of Captain Bill Toti, USN (Ret.) via Kimo McVay. (REUNION.)
to be nearer the fighting: QUIET, 394.
Japanese soldiers stormed Guam’s crystalline beaches: “Battle for Guam. The Pacific: Lost Evidence,” http://jifeed.net/trends/watch/vid88VNJA9pT_e3M.
“Things are very quiet”: REUNION, 2.
went to have lunch with Spruance: Ibid.
working on the invasion plans for Kyushu: REUNION, 3.
/> McVay went to the routing office: Exchange between McVay and routing office personnel is taken from: REUNION, 3. CONEY. McVay testimony, 298–303.
prefer to travel in company with another ship: CONEY, 331. McVay testimony.
was told that no escort was necessary: CONEY, 510. Waldron testimony.
“At least we went through the motions”: CONEY. Waldron testimony, 521.
Chapter 9
the Empire would “mokusatsu” the declaration: LONGEST, 14–17.
arrived on the Okinawa-Saipan route: SUNK, 216.
slipped into the boat’s Shinto shrine to pray: Ibid.
Janney, called at the routing office: CONEY. Waldron testimony, 513.
Commanding officers are at all times responsible: Routing Instructions. 28 July 1945. Enclosure B-6.
Janney reviewed the contacts with Waldron: Ibid. Enclosure A. Also: CONEY. Waldron testimony, 513.
“Here we go again”: CONEY. McVay testimony, 300.
McVay had reason to believe him: Ibid., 305.
buttressed what Carter had told him: CONEY. McVay testimony, 299.
the Chop line was the 130-degree east: CONEY, 564. Murray testimony.
aircraft popped up on radar and forced him to dive: SUNK, 216.
the vegetables had run out: SUNK, 217.
positioning itself on a vector line of 160: ULTRA 2. Submarine intercept dated 15 July 1945.
he found it painful: SUNK, 182.
more submarines had been lost: Records of the 7th Fleet, Anti-submarine Warfare Reports. Record Group 38, Box 198, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (7th FLEET.)
many of his submarine school classmates: SUNK, 145.
perhaps a stronger tie to the faith: Atsuko Iida, granddaughter of Mochitsura Hashimoto. Email and on-camera interviews conducted by Sara Vladic, 2014–16.
in Hashimoto’s family for centuries: Ibid.
confused about why Captain McVay would be reporting: CONEY, 535. McCormick testimony.
had performed strenuous duty in Okinawa: Ibid.
included several “information” addressees: USS Indianapolis Departure Message Date-Time Group 280032 Port Director Guam to SCOMA, PD Tacloban, CTG 95.7; COM 5th Fleet, COMMARIANAS, CTF 95, CINCPAC BOTH HQ, COMWESCAROLINES.
entered the ship’s movement data in a memo record: CONEY, 551. Gillette testimony.