After 72 years, ship’s survivors finally know its last resting place
FOR decades, survivors of USS Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes at the end of the Second World War, believed the remains of the heavy cruiser and their shipmates would never be found.
But as news emerged that an underwater expedition had discovered the wreck 18,000ft below the surface of the North Pacific Ocean, they described a mix of emotions as they remembered the hundreds of sailors and marines who died in one of America’s worst naval disasters.
Arthur Leenerman, a 93-year-old survivor, said the discovery had been a long time coming. “We were wondering whether they would ever be able to find it or not,” he said. “I’m glad they found it and I hope I get a chance to have a closer look at the pictures.” But he said that he was saddened that so many survivors and relatives of those lost at sea had died without ever having a chance to learn of the ship’s final resting place.
Don Mccall Jr, whose father was a survivor but died earlier this year, said: “It brings a little bit of closure to all those families and especially those survivors who can now see their shipmates’ final resting place.”
USS Indianapolis was returning from a secret mission to deliver parts for the atom bomb that was later used on Hiroshima, when she was hit by Japanese torpedoes on July 30 1945.
What came next made the episode one of the most retold tales of America’s war. The vessel sank in just 12 minutes giving survivors little time to use rescue equipment. No distress call was ever received and it was not until four days later, when a bomber on a routine mission spotted survivors, that the alarm was raised.
Search teams rescued only 316 men of the 1,196 on board, making it the largest single loss of life in the history of the US navy.
Hundreds survived the sinking but succumbed to dehydration, drowning or shark attacks. The ship’s location remained a mystery, somewhere in the Philippine Sea between the island of Guam and Leyte Gulf.
Mr Leenerman, who served for two years on USS Indianapolis and is now one of 19 remaining survivors, said he had time to put on a life jacket before climbing overboard.
He clung to a group of men as they waited for rescue through four days and five nights. “As long as we were together and stayed in a bunch, we were fairly safe from the sharks,” he said.
The story of the ship and her survivors has occupied a special place in the American psyche. They were the subject of countless books, documentaries and films. The tale made for a chilling plot point in Jaws, the 1975 Steven Spielberg film, when Capt Quint, the fictional survivor, describes the terror of waiting to be rescued while sharks snatched men in the water.
Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who has led the expedition to find the wreck, announced the discovery at the weekend. “To be able to honour the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending the Second World War is truly humbling,” he said.
The US navy said the research vessel Petrel continues to survey the site and that the work complies with American laws treating a sunken warship as a military grave.