by Lynn Vincent
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NOTES
PROLOGUE
Only 316 survived: Hulver, Richard, and Sara Vladic. “Setting the Record Straight: Loss of the USS Indianapolis and the Question of Clarence Donnor,” Proceedings. U.S. Naval Institute. March 21, 2018. In 2018 author Sara Vladic teamed up with Dr. Richard Hulver at the Naval History and Heritage Command to investigate the final crew numbers of the Indianapolis. It was concluded through extensive research that Radio Technician 2nd Class Clarence Donnor, previously thought to have been a passenger on the final sailing crew and lost at sea, departed from the ship just hours prior to her final sailing. Instead, he received orders to report for officer training at Fort Schuyler, NY. After confirming details of the transfer in Donnor’s personnel records and matching that to the crew list records compiled in August of 1945, Vladic and Hulver finally determined that 1,195 men sailed on Indianapolis, and 316 survived.
BOOK 1: THE KAMIKAZE
Chapter 1
plane plunged from a slab of clouds: Action Report, Nansei Shoto Operations (Phase 1) 18 March–7 April 1945, USS Indianapolis. Naval War College. Record Group 23, (NANSEI), 8–9. Also: War Diary, USS Indianapolis, March 1945. Naval War College Record Group 23. (MARCH WAR.)
Spruance tracking the action: Buell, Thomas B. The Quiet Warrior: A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1987. Print. 373.8. (QUIET.)
Sailing closest were sixteen aircraft carriers: NANSEI, 3–4. QUIET, 373.
Morgan stood near McVay: Interview with Glenn Morgan. “Legacy On-Camera Interviews with Survivors, Survivors Families, and Families of Men Lost at Sea,” 2005–2016, conducted by Sara Vladic. (LEGACY.)
whistled close to Bunker Hill: NANSEI, 9.
Task Force 58 was maneuvering at Emperor Hirohito’s: NANSEI.
the Empire’s air reaction: QUIET, 373.
crew of nearly a thousand: Muster Roll of the Crew of the USS Indianapolis, March 31, 1945, certified by Commander Flynn and approved by Captain Charles McVay III on April 3, 1945. Recapitulation sheet. According to the Muster Roll, the ship’s complement at the end of March 1945 and carrying forward was 996 men.
helped tenderize the beach: Action Report, Iwo Jima Operations, 8 February–5 March 1945, USS Indianapolis. Naval War College. Record Group 23. (IWO OPS.)
wasn’t so sure about McVay: LEGACY. Morgan interview.
won a Silver Star for courage: Military Service Record of Rear Admiral Charles B. McVay III, obtained from the National Archives via Persons of Exceptional Prominence program. October 2016.
American naval power at its zenith: QUIET, 351–52.
Buckett had recorded the bombardment: IWO OPS, 1–42.
“Give ’em hell, boys”: LEGACY. Clarence Hershberger, LEGACY interview.
the performance of her crew had been excellent: IWO OPS, 32.
At fifty-eight, Spruance vented his intensity: QUIET, 212.
“gaudy Hawaiian bathing panties”: Ibid., 266.
not content with hitting just the Kyushu: Ibid., 373.
“walnut with a sledgehammer”: Good, Roscoe F. letter to Commander Thomas Buell re: Admiral Raymond S. Spruance. N.D. Naval War College. MSC 37, Thomas Buell Collection, Box 4.
sorely needed fighting spirit: QUIET, 109.
saw a pair of sailors: LEGACY, Celaya interview.
Spruance quickly presided over a series of firsts: See generally QUIET.
finest and most human characters: Ibid., 185.
“Broke my hand, sir”: Account of Admiral Spruance’s interaction with Celaya is based on LEGACY interviews with Celaya. Also: Interview with Harpo Celaya by Lynn Vincent in Florence, Arizona. August 2015. (LV-CELAYA.)
his pilots had bested 102: Appleman, Roy Edgar. Okinawa: The Last Battle. Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, Dept. of the Army, 1948. Print. Reprint 1971, 15. (OKINAWA.)
“supership,” Yamato was capable of fighting: Mitsuru, Yoshida. Requiem for Battleship Yamato. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999.
Chapter 2
stormed into the office of the Combined Fleet commander in chief: Hashimoto, Mochitsura. Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet, 1941–1945. New York: Holt, 1954. (SUNK.)
B-29s had torched sixteen square miles: “Bombing of Tokyo and Other Cities.” World War II Database. Accessed June 16, 2016. Article covers 19 February–10 August 1945. Also: History Chanel. “Firebombing of Tokyo (This Day in History).” History.com. Accessed June 26, 2016. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo.
Spruance had mobilized unprecedented logistics: QUIET, 190.
his own mission to Iwo Jima: SUNK, 194.
American submarines therefore gained experience quickly: Interview with Captain Bill Toti, former skipper of the Los Angeles–class submarine USS Indianapolis (SSN-697).
His own submarine, I-58: Potts, J. R. “IJN I-58—History, Specs and Pictures—Navy Ships.” (IJN I-58.)
his countrymen had begun to wonder: Hastings, Max. Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, 370. (HASTINGS.)
torpedo officer on a sub at Pearl Harbor: SUNK, 21.
“We are turning away from the enemy!”: SUNK, 197.
plunged through a line of squalls: Ibid.
He could not dive out of sight: SUNK, 198.
Maddening! Hashimoto thought: Ibid.
who was to say he could not first launch his kaiten: SUNK, 198.
Above all, he had wanted to try: Ibid.
Chapter 3
“go play that damn thing in the head!”: Morgan, Glenn Grover. “A WWII Bugler Tells His Story.” Memoir. 28 Sept. 2011. 36 Pages. (GM-BUGLER)
one of America’s eighteen “Treaty Cruisers”: Pike, John. “Treaty Cruiser.” GlobalSecurity.org. Accessed March 8, 2016.
a kid named Earl Procai reported for duty: Procai story related in: Morgan, Glenn Grover. “Story of Suicide Plane Attack” Memoir. 28 Sept. 2011. 3 Pages. (GM-KAMIKAZE.)
Spruance took station in his bridge: QUIET, 373.
At 5:30 a.m., the carriers launched the CAP: NANSEI, 9.
dead ahead of the carrier Franklin: USS Franklin narrative based on USS Franklin (CV-13) Bomb Damage report Honshu, 19 March 1945. Bureau of Ships, Navy Department. United States Naval War College Archives. Figures for men killed and wounded from ussfranklin.org, accessed online October 17, 2017.
carrier Essex splashed one attacker: NANSEI, 9.
falling with a friendly fighter on its tail: Ibid.
third run on Essex: NANSEI, 10.
Franklin’s fiery agony in full view of the admiral’s seat: QUIET, 373.
Chapter 4
all the damned noise: The Ugaki narrative is based on the admiral’s war diary: Ugaki, Matome, Donald M. Goldstein, and Katherine V. Dillon. Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941–1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008. (UGAKI.)
Ugaki felt time was running out: UGAKI, 361.
“a dagger pointed at our throat”: Hull, Michael D., “Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: Japan’s Naval War Leader.” Warfare History Network. Accessed online 19 January 2017. Yamamoto’s quotation has been rendered variously, including “a dagger pointed at our hearts.”
vowed vengeance for his commander: UGAKI, 360.
sign their names either next to the word “eager”: Day of the Kamikaze, Smithsonian Channel. February 8, 2008, United Kingdom. Director: Peter Nicholson.
spent their last days quietly: Ibid.
nothing less than a national death sentence: Yokoi narrative based on: Yokoi, Toshiyuki. “Kamikazes and the Okinawa Campaign.” Proceedings. U.S. Naval Institute. May 1954. Vol 80/5/615.
run wild seeking ways to save the Empire: UGAKI, 531.
“send our young men to die with a smile”: UGAKI, 550.
Chapter 5
“Not the great Basil P. Pole”: L. D. Cox narrative based on interviews with L. D. Cox. LEGACY.
hunched over their plates: Interviews with Umenhoffer, Fortin, and Nunley. LEGACY.
McVay ordered Indy released from formation: NANSEI, 24.
carried livestock as food stores: McVay, Charles B., Jr. Autobiography. Papers of Admiral Charles B. McVay, Jr. Library of Congress.
had assumed the role of hanging judge: USS Indianapolis: Ship of Doom. Produced by Bill Van Daalen. Chip Taylor Communications.
rose quickly to prestigious postings: Biography of Rear Admiral Charles B. McVay III, U.S. Navy (Retired). This biography was printed on the letterhead of Headquarters Eighth Naval District, Federal Building, New Orleans, Louisiana.
no other ships in the formation: NANSEI, 24.
Lebow held his cards: Lebow and Murphy narrative based on interviews with Cleatus Lebow and Paul Murphy. LEGACY.
Celaya and Quihuis were walking: Narrative of Celaya and Quihuis during the kamikaze attack is based on: Quihuis, Mike. “Mike Quihuis Diary.” Diary. July 22, 1944–November 26, 1945. Handwritten. (KIWI.) Also: LEGACY. Celaya interviews.
stacked the ranks with corn-fed rednecks: Clemans, Charles. Harpo: War Survivor, Basketball Wizard. Tucson, AZ: Wheatmark, 2009. Print. 29. (HARPO.)
Quihuis and Pena were older: LV-CELAYA.
“get you alone someday and kill you”: HARPO, 31.
naked bone poked up through his skin: LEGACY. Celaya interviews.
“Next time you hit someone”: HARPO, 31. Also: LV-CELAYA.
Chapter 6
burst through the low overcast: NANSEI, 24.
“Who is that trigger-happy—”: GM-KAMIKAZE, 2.
his parents’ faces flashed before him: Murphy, Marylou, and USS Indianapolis Survivors. Only 317 Survived!: USS Indianapolis (CA-35): Navy’s Worst Tragedy at Sea—880 Men Died. Indianapolis, IN: USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization, 2002. 174. (317.)
L. D. Cox heard the battle stations call: LEGACY. L. D. Cox interviews.
Ed Harrell was ready to shoot: LEGACY. Edgar Harrell interviews.
The bomb punched a sixteen-inch hole: Bomb damage report taken from NANSEI. 29–32.
the ship to whip: USS Indianapolis (CA-35) Report of War Damage, 31 March 1945, prepared by Mare Island Naval Yard, 6-8.
four sailors rush to the plane: GM-KAMIKAZE, 2.
“We have to dog it down!”: LEGACY. Troy Nunley interviews.
musters revealed that eight men were missing: Deck Logs, USS Indianapolis, March 1–March 31, 1945. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Record Group 24. Box 4839. (MARCH LOG.)
Spruance immediately expressed his suspicion: QUIET, 378.
finally secured the Keramas: Isely, Jeter A., and Philip Axtell. Crowl. The US Marines and Amphibious War: Its Theory, and Its Practice in the Pacific. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1951. Print. (WAR.)
a silver bugle in his hand: GM-KAMIKAZE.
among nine men killed: Muster Roll of the Crew of the USS Indianapolis, March 31, 1945, certified by Commander Flynn and approved by Captain Charles McVay III on April 3, 1945. Report of Changes, 29. MM3c Winston Hayden Arnold, QM3c Marvin Eugene Douglass, Bug2c Calvin Ball Emery, MM1c John Morris Garhart, QM3c Matt Anthony Klucaric, QM3c Richard Clarence Kuchenbach, Y3c Epifanio Lobato Jr, Bug2c Earl Peter Procai, and QM3c Byron Emery Smiley were killed in the kamikaze attack on March 31, 1945.
render Procai his final honors: MARCH LOG.
Procai was to be buried: Department of the Navy, letter to the parents of Earl Procai. March 5, 1948. In 1948, Congress undertook an effort to return America’s war dead to their families. As a result, bugler Earl Procai was returned to his family, and to the home he loved so much, in Minnesota.
Chapter 7
Spruance himself would be sitting D-Day out: QUIET, 378.
wrote in his contraband diary: Morgan, Glenn Grover. “Glenn Morgan Diaries.” January 1–April 25, 1945. Handwritten by Glenn Morgan, and retyped by Sharon Morgan and Ben Huntley. (GM-DIARIES.)
gave Morgan a wooden flute: GM-KAMIKAZE.
dubbed Moore “photographic officer”: Moore, Katherine D. Goodbye, Indy Maru. Knoxville, TN: Lori Publications, 1991, 27. (MARU.)
it marked him deeply: MARU, 64–67.
respected the admiral more than any man: Ibid., 55.
document major damage aboard: MARCH WAR, 29–32.
my men have dropped the propeller: QUIET, 379.
On April 5, Spruance shifted his flag: Ibid.
Chapter 8
On April 2, Mochitsura Hashimoto put to sea: SUNK, 201.
Hirohito considered the island’s successful defense: HASTINGS, 369.
if they could make America pay dearly enough: Ibid.
“the turn toward heaven”: SUNK, 177.
Type 93 sanso gyorai: Information on the kaiten human torpedoes is based on “Kaiten Special Attack Submarine,” Combined Fleet. Accessed October 1, 2016. http://combinedfleet.com/ships/kaiten. The authors of this site, Japanese submarine experts Bob Hackett and Sander Kingsepp, were extremely generous and helpful as we researched the Japanese fleet for this book. See also: SUNK, 177–79.
swords held aloft, white headbands flying: SUNK, 180.
suspicious vessel had been sighted: Ibid., 185.
“which is the Southern Cross”: Ibid., 186.
jetted away from I-58 without uttering a sound: Ibid., 188.
Lieutenant Ishikawa had written: Ibid., 189.
Chapter 9
more than three hundred enemy planes: “Kamikaze.” U-S-History.com. Accessed online October 15, 2016. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1740.html.
At 4:41 p.m., they opened fire: Deck Logs, USS Indianapolis, 1 April –30 April 1945. Record Group 24. Box No. 4839. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (DECK APRIL.)
by 1:15 p.m. had rendezvoused: DECK APRIL.
Yamato was crumbling: Mitsuru, Yoshida. Requiem for Battleship Yamato. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1999.
Hirohito secretly charged: Hando, Kazutoshi. Japan’s Longest Day. 1990 ed. Vol. Eighth Printing. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1967. (LONGEST.)
Chapter 10
Nazis had beaten him: Powers, Thomas. Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History of the German Bomb. New York: Knopf, 1993, 413. (HEISENBERG.)
clandestine U.S. mission called Alsos: See generally HEISENBERG.
a small cache of fissionable material: HEISENBERG, 412.
specter of a German atomic weapon: Ibid., 218–28.
what of the news that Werner Heisenberg: Ibid., 113–15.
fear swirling around these questions: Ibid., 218.
Furman already knew the general: the account of Furman’s relationship with General Leslie Groves is based on: Papers of Robert Furman. Library of Congress. Robert Furman’s writing on Manhattan Engineering District, c. 1982, Papers of Robert Furman, Library of Congress [MED]. Also: “How to Carry an Atomic Bomb.” Furman’s remarks and reflections on the Alsos mission, the Manhattan Project, and his role in events, July 1985. (CARRY.)
a little cache of hard candy: “Draft: August 5, 1985.” Remarks prepared about the fortieth anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Papers of Robert Furman, Library of Congress. (DRAFT.)
began a crash course in atomic science: HEISENBERG, 219.
the engagement was called off: Interview with Robert Furman, Chief of Foreign Intelligence and assistant to General Lloyd Groves, Manhattan Project, February 20, 2008. Voices of the Manhattan Project, a joint project of Atomic Heritage Foundation and the Los Alamos Historical Society Online at: http://manhattanprojectvoices.org/oral-histories/robert-furmans-interview. Accessed March 25, 2016. (FURMAN ATOMIC.)
Chapter 11
gotten under way from Guam on April 15: DECK APRIL.
Captain McVay ordered a memorial service: Ibid.
American president ever served as King Neptune: Roosevelt served as King Neptune sometime between November 18 a
nd December 15, 1936. Inbiblio. USS Indianapolis Memorial Dedication Program, 4.
Il Duce’s corpse had been hung upside down: “Mussolini’s Body Strung Up, Kicked, Spat Upon.” Pittsburgh Press, April 30, 1945. Newspapers.com image of original.
“toothless, pulpy mass”: Ibid.
shot trap off the fantail: Henry, Earl O., Sr., letters to his wife, Jane Henry, May 22, 1944–July 27, 1945. Letter of April 24, 1945. Dr. Henry wrote more than 160 pages of letters to Jane. He would pass away three days after his final letter, in which he wrote to Jane that he had finally received photographs of his newborn son, Earl O. Henry, Jr.: “Baby-angel, those two wonderful pictures came today, and I am delighted as I can be over them! Considering that he is a premature baby, he looks mighty good.” Letters courtesy of Earl O. Henry, Jr. (HENRY LETTERS.)
Moore, the former newspaperman, had profiled Henry: Moore, Kyle C. “Mounting Birds Is Not Stuff Business Says Youngster Who Must Stop,” Knoxville Sunday Journal, August 6, 1933.
McVay saw a large bird glide in: HENRY LETTERS. Letter of April 24, 1945.
At 6:19 a.m., the OOD directed the helmsman: DECK APRIL.
Kinau had been a whirling socialite: Kurzman, Dan. Fatal Voyage. New York: Atheneum, 1990. Print. 5. (FATAL.)
Chapter 12
Katherine Moore squeezed into the crowded dining car: The account of Katherine Moore’s travel to Mare Island is based on: Moore, Katherine D. Goodbye, Indy Maru. Knoxville, TN: Lori Publications, 1991. (MARU.)
Father Thomas Conway loaned Lew Haynes a few dollars: “Oral History with Capt. (ret.) Lewis Haynes, MD, USN,” U.S. Navy Medical Department Oral History Program, June 5, 12, 22, 1995, 16. (BUMED.)
Harpo Celaya headed home to Florence, Arizona: HARPO, 32.
Donald Mack beat him out for promotion: Morgan, Glenn Grover. “A WWII Bugler Tells His Story.” Memoir. 28 Sept. 2011. 36 Pages. (GM-BUGLER.)
Chapter 13
filled with flashing silver plate: “Bombing of Tokyo and Other Cities.” World War II Database. Accessed June 16, 2016. Article covers 19 February–10 August 1945.
The central target was Shitamachi: History Chanel. “Firebombing of Tokyo (This Day in History).” History.com. Accessed June 26, 2016. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo.
