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Only remembered primarily through “Quint’s” speech from the 1976 film “Jaws”.
This is her true story. Heroism, fear, loyalty, and finally the rescue of her survivors and the aftermath. It’s a little over an hour and a half, and I’ll warn you now, it’s probably gonna mess with your allergies some.
This oughtta be required viewing for everyone. The debts we owe our WW2 Veterans can never be repaid.
USS Indianapolis

Captain McVay was the victim of the navy’s incompetence and the beneficiary of Admiral King’s vendetta against his father.
It is criminal what they did to the Captain and his crew.

Garner ted Armstrong read the book over several weeks on NPR's week day Radio Reader a couple of decades ago.....i made sure i never missed an episode.

Great radio.

Admiral King allowed Joe Rochefort, the guy who provided the information to Admiral Nimitz that directly led to the ambush of the Japanese carrier force at Midway, to be sidelined in less important positions because of officers on his staff who tried to take credit for Rochefort's team's work. Those same people tried to get Edwin Layton, Admiral Nimitz's intelligence officer, fired, but Nimitz stood in their way. If Rochefort had been in Nimitz's chain of command, Rochefort might have made more significant contributions in our fight against the Japanese. Instead of working in intelligence, he managed the construction of floating drydocks for most of the war.

The Indianapolis was an old and worn ship when she was sunk. She probably should have had a pair of destroyers escorting her, since she didn't have any anti-submarine capability.

McVay requested Destroyer escort as was the custom for all capital ships on Titian and was denied and dismissed. His orders were to zig-zag at his discretion. The captain of the sub testified he what a spread of six torpedos at the ship and there was no way it could escape zig-zag or not.

Enjoyed the link. Thanks!

Thanks for the link. I just watched the whole thing.

Bb

"In Harm's Way" by Doug Stanton. Excellent read.

Bought it…picked it up and didn’t put it down till I was finished.

It’s insane to learn about everything that transpired leading up to the ship being sunk. A hundred things went just perfectly wrong.

Reading about those guys in the water reminds me to not complain about anything, ever again.

Thanks for posting this.

I met Indianapolis survivors, Michael Kuryla and Robert McGuiggan at a gun show in Grand Rapids, MI many years ago. Mr Kuryla was was very outgoing and chatty, Mr. McGuiggan considerably less so. When I met them I had very little knowledge of their experiences. I got a real education.
At other Grand Rapids gun shows I met Paul Tibbets and Thomas Ferebee (Enola Gay) and Fred Olivi (Bock's Car).

Thanks. I have two books about it and I see another one I need to get.

I know King only from reading Toll’s trilogy about the Pacific war. Can you expand on this or suggest some reading?

It’s a damn shame that this story of heroism and sacrifice is remembered only by a few minutes of dialogue in a 50 year old movie!🤬
I knew there’d be a pile of people who would like this. You’re all welcome! As the son of a WW2 veteran, I was blessed to know quite a few other veterans. Stuff like this always gets my interest (and allergies worked up😀)
Had a copy of “”in Harms Way”, but I loaned it to someone who never returned it.
I often wish I had gotten a tape recorder to talk to these guys that I admired so much. Some didn’t like to talk about it, but others were glad to share their experiences with a young history buff.
I feel that this debt is impossible to pay, and it really gallles me that we’re all too busy and comfortable to preserve the wonderful heritage we were given. I can’t blame these heroes of mine for shunning me when I see them again!😒
I’m not a coward, but I’m helpless by myself, and I don’t want to be remembered as a lone nut, just a patriot who loved his country. If we had taught our children better, this nation would be way better off. Sons and daughters of veterans would not use public office to feather their own nest!🤬
Thanks for that second video.

I remember being told in the early 90s that we were losing, (I forget the number) 100 or more WW2 veterans every week! I really jarred me to hear that’😳
I’d imagine we’re almost there now with guys who served in Vietnam.😒

King was reprimanded and he and another cadet put on report over violation of protocol in barracks I think for having women in barracks by Admiral McVay, the Captain’s father. I think it was in “Harm’s Way “. It mentioned that the commander on Tinian that declined destroyer escort was a crony. It ended up being a perfect catastrophe because everyone down the line ignored the fact Indy. Was missing.
They court martialed the captain to cover up the mess they created. The dead crew members relatives believed McVay was responsible for their loved ones deaths and hounded and threatened him for decades until finally snapped and committed suicide with his service revolver. Many crew survivors testified that he was honorable and could do nothing to stop what happened. The jap. Commander testified at his court martial hearing and told how Zig/Zag tactics wouldn’t work. He fired 6 torpedoes from 1500 yds. In a spread they could never avoid. It was dark and overcast. The lookouts were virtually blind.
The reason many were sleeping on deck was because the ship was old and had bad ventilation. The captain authorized it. He tells of an incident where the crew was complaining about inlisted mess food being inedible. Captain McVay showed up for chow and saw what they were complaining about. He ordered that the crew be fed the same as officers. They respected him.

Admiral Nimitz knew it was a farce and tried to talk King out of court martialing him to no avail. Afterward Nimitz promoted Captain McBay to Admiral so he would have better retirement.

What those men endured is unimaginable. My heart goes out to them for their immeasurable desire to fight and survive against all odds.

Resurrecting a dead post. But I ran across this video, which offers more information about what those guys in the water survived.
USS Indianapolis
Quints monologue in the movie is one of the films best scenes.
As good as it is, it still doesn’t come close to the reality of what these men suffered.
We owe it to these men, and to ourselves to remember.
Reon

watch that movie just the other night or at least the version with Nicholas Cage