In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors (32 page)

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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
Indianapolis
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.

p. 254
McVay had received the announcement: Washington Post,
December 20, 1945, “Captain Takes It Calmly.”

Three months after the court martial:
Service Record: McVay, Charles Butler.

CHAPTER TWELVE: BACK IN THE WORLD

Interviews: John Spinelli, Jack Miner, Mike Kuyrla, Ed Brown, Jack Cassidy, Harlan Twible, Robert Gause, Gus Kay, Dr. Lewis Haynes, Giles McCoy, Felton Outland, Gordon Linke, Jocelyn Linke, Scott Linke, Winthrop Smith Jr., Ed Stevens, Florence Regosia.

p. 259
After the court martial:
Service Record: McVay, Charles Butler;
Times-Picayune,
November 9, 1968.

On the plane ride to Indianapolis: Indianapolis Times,
July 30, 1960.

EPILOGUE

Interviews: Giles McCoy, Harlan Twible, Dr. Lewis Haynes, Michael Monroney.

p. 265
Twenty-eight years after:
Summary of Report on the Court-Martial of Captain Charles B. McVay III, USN, Commanding Officer, USS
Indianapolis.
Dated: 18 June 1996; Report on the Court-Martial of Captain Charles B. McVay III, USN, Commanding Officer, USS
Indianapolis.
Prepared by Cdr. R. D. Scott, NJAG. Includes letters to The Honorable Andrew Jacobs Jr., United States House of Representatives. Signed: Steven S. Honigman. Dated: 14 November 1996.

The
answer,
explains Captain Bill Toti:
Commander William J. Toti, U.S. Navy, “The Sinking of the
Indy
& Responsibility of Command,”
Proceedings,
October 1999.

p. 266
“We would’ve rode to hell”:
Bill Van Daalen, videotaped interview with Bob Brundige, 1990.

The survivors’ efforts to clear: Naval History,
July—August 1998, “Timeline to Justice,” Hunter Scott.
On October 12, 2000:
Conference Report to H. R. 4205, The National Defense Authorization Act of 2001.

p. 267
In response, the navy:
Navy spokesperson, October 12, 2000.

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