USS Indianapolis sinking: 'You could see sharks circling (68th anniversary )

BBC ^ | 07/28/2103 | Alex Last

[Kid Shelleen]

When USS Indianapolis was hit by Japanese torpedoes in the final weeks of WWII, hundreds of crewmen jumped into the water to escape the burning ship. Surrounded by sharks, they waited for a response to their SOS. But no one had been sent to look for them.

In late July 1945, USS Indianapolis had been on a special secret mission, delivering parts of the first atomic bomb to the Pacific Island of Tinian where American B-29 bombers were based. Its job done, the warship, with 1,197 men on board, was sailing west towards Leyte in the Philippines when it was attacked.

[Jeff Chandler]

I read a book on the Indianapolis about 50 years ago. I’ve never forgotten it.

I'll bet it was the same book. I still remember reading about how the sharks kept coming, some of the guys gave up and drank sea water, etc.

[skeeter]

According to Dreyfuss, Shaw blew the first shooting of that scene because he'd been on an all night bender & was crocked.

He came back the next day, apologizing profusely, and asked for another chance, nailing the entire scene in one take.

The guy had more charisma than Pitt, Affleck, and Damon and a half dozen other of today's biggest box office stars combined.

[mrsmith]

My Dad’s ship was one of the first to the site.
The carnage made the biggest impression upon him of all he saw in his two years in WW2.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Redemption is a powerful motivator.

[RedMonqey]

HiTech RedNeck,

I messed up.

It’s “Ed Harrell, USMC, Clarksville, Tenn” that’s “practically on my doorstep”

Should’ve slowed down and read the whole article but “Clarksville, Tenn’ popped out at me and I goy real excited....Just Damn....

[RedMonqey]

I’ll have that ditty in my head for that next seveal days...

Bom...Bom...Bom...
Show me the way to go home....
Bom...Bom...Bom...

[Vince Ferrer]

Jaws is a great movie, one of my top ten easily. If you saw it as a kid and haven’t seen it in a while, you think it was just a movie about a shark. When people see it again as an adult, they say, “hey, that was a really great movie”.

[Bronzy]

Me too.

[A_Former_Democrat]

I learned only a few years ago about the Indianapolis and it eventually became a subject of interest, including reading a book about it.

A good short narrative of it is on “The Last Days of World War II” on the Military History Channel. I’ve seen it several times and highly recommend it (the series works the last 6 months, beginning about with Iwo Jima). According to that, no escorts were available. The Jap sub commander did not have one hit until then and it was a fluke the Indy was even noticed.

It’s a wonder that many managed to survive. McVey really got the shaft, and as noted above, eventually committed suicide in 1968 over his grief

[HiTech RedNeck]

Hey no need to “just damn” — maybe since he’s so close (I am just outside Nashville myself) he might show up somewhere in Tennessee and give more talks. Indy isn’t that terrible a trip though.

[RedMonqey]

.Where else but the city of Indy, even though that had nothing to do with the actual making or manning of the ship....

Maybe some of the old sea dogs here can be more authoritarian on the subject but doesn't capitol ships like the USS Indianapolis have states and cities as official "sponsors" for lack of a better term? Hence the association with that state/city? >

Just putting it out there for consideration....

[Vince Ferrer]

What’s great is that Robert Shaw wrote that whole speech. He didn’t like what they had in the script so he wrote his own. Brilliant!

And did it drunk, which I've heard he was for a good bit of the filming. It just gives his character more authenticity.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Interesting... but I hope the USS Jimmy Carter didn’t need you know who! And will there be a USS Barack Obama? (The jokes write themselves.)

[higgmeister]

My first thought also was Robert Shaw's character when I saw the title!

"Show me the way to go home.
I'm tired and I wanna go to bed.
I had a little drink about an hour ago,
An' it went right to my head."

[RedMonqey]

Hey no need to “just damn” —...

That's true.

I wish the Old Man(my father)was still alive. He knew everybody in town.

Of course that was before Clarksville got too big for it's britches...

I'll have to ask around and see if any knows him personally....

[RedMonqey]

And if the Republicans don’t get their act together in 2016 there be a USS Hillary Clinton....

Does the Navy have garbage scows?

[HiTech RedNeck]

That would be an insult to garbage scows which actually do something good. Maybe a pirate ship could be thus named, but the US does not do pirate ships. Yet.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If you learn, shoot me a tip. I’d be curious.

[RedMonqey]

Will do so.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

History Channel or Discovery had a great show on the USS Indianapolis. Their conclusion IIRC was that most of the dead were from drowning due to salt water ingestion. Most guys were so parched after days in the ocean, they just drank salt water and then went nuts, swimming down to their death. So the vast majority of the men taken by sharks were already dead from drowning.

Just for what it’s worth. I mean, who knows? But the image is always one of screaming men eaten alive by sharks and that is not the conclusion from that show, from talking to the survivors.