by Lynn Vincent
• Don McCall, Indianapolis survivor. Telephone interview by Lynn Vincent, February 2017.
Memoirs and Private Papers
• Murphy, Mary Lou, 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. (317)
• Hershberger, Clarence L. Tragedy: As Seen by One Survivor. De Leon Springs, FL: self-published, 1994.
• Private Papers of and interviews with Morgan, Bugler Glenn, USS Indianapolis survivor. “Glenn Morgan’s Story of the Suicide Plane Attack.” “Glenn Morgan 2006 Interview.” “Glenn G. Morgan—Legacy Interview.” Interview by author. February 20, 2011. On camera. “Glenn Morgan Diaries.” January 1–April 25, 1945. “My Story.” Memoir. 28 September. 2011. “Story of Suicide Plane Attack” Memoir. 28 September. 2011 “Torpedoed” Memoir. 1993. Forty-three pages. Handwritten by G. Morgan. “A WWII Bugler Tells His Story.” Memoir. 28 September. 2011. (GM—BUGLER)
• Clemans, Charles. Harpo: War Survivor, Basketball Wizard. Tucson, AZ: Wheatmark, 2009.
• Harrell, Edgar, and David Harrell. Out of the Depths: An Unforgettable WWII Story of Survival, Courage, and the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis. 2nd ed. n.p.: Bethany House, 2014. Print.
• USS Indianapolis crew members and Philip A. St. John, PhD. USS Indianapolis, CA-35. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 1997. (WHITE BOOK)
• USS Indianapolis families. Lost at Sea but Not Forgotten. Indianapolis, IN: Printing Partners, 2008. (LAS)
• Twible, Harlan Malcolm. The Life and Times of an Immigrant’s Son. Sarasota, FL: self-published, 1997.
• MacGregor, Jill Noblit. Unsinkable: The Inspiring True Story of USS Indianapolis Survivor: ROBERT P. GAUSE, QM1. Ed. Julie Gabell. 1st ed. self-published, 2014.
Naval Records
• “An Account of Survivors Following the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis with Recommended Changes in Lifesaving Equipment.” Haynes, Commander Lewis L., to Naval Inspector General via Captain C. E. Coney. 26 November 1945. Indiana Historical Society. USS Indianapolis collection.
• “The Sinking of USS Indianapolis: Recollections of Captain Charles B. McVay III.” World War II Interviews, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center.
• Address by R. Adrian Marks (Navy pilot who landed his PBY “Dumbo” in the Philippine Sea and rescued fifty-three Indianapolis survivors.) Presented at the first USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Reunion, Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana, 30 July 1960.
• Address by Adrian Marks, “I’ve Seen Greatness,” July 1985. Abridged transcript of speech delivered at the fortieth anniversary of the Indianapolis sinking and rescue.
• “Oral History with Capt. (ret.) Lewis Haynes, MD, USN,” U.S. Navy Medical Department Oral History Program, June 5, 12, 22, 1995.
Additional Notes for Book 3
The following notes refer to scenes that did not take place among the men in the water prior to rescue. See above for sourcing of events in the water prior to rescue.
Chapter 1
attack any enemy survivors: Address by Atsuko Iida, Commander Hashimoto’s granddaughter, at the USS Indianapolis Survivors Reunion, 2014.
A ship so badly wounded: SUNK, 225.
Chapter 2
Any more would push the raft deeper: The rafts aboard Indy were designed for 40 pounds of buoyancy for each person, meaning that a 10-person raft has 400 pounds of buoyancy, or enough to keep 2 to 3 men fully out of the water. If 10 men were in a 10-person raft, then on average, only 40 pounds of each man would be out of the water, and each man submerged to his chest. Maybe one or two men could be sitting up on the sides, but it would make everyone else float lower. Indy had a number of 10- and 25-person rafts, according to the plans from her final refit. Source: http://www.usmm.org/lifeboat.html. See section 153.4a (dates of Indy plans 4/17/45).
Something about the naval battle: According to Richard LeFrancis’s personal account, two days after it was announced that the Indianapolis had been sunk in the area where he reported a possible naval battle, he notified the base intelligence officer of the incident, and was told to forget it, that it was a Navy problem. Not satisfied, LeFrancis writes that he called the FBI in San Francisco, and an agent was sent to his barracks. According to LeFrancis, nothing came of either report. Witness to the Sinking of USS Indianapolis. Richard LeFrancis, Jr., director of the Pappy Boyington Veterans Museum and son of Army Captain Richard LeFrancis. Video. Accessed online 10 September 2017 on YouTube.
Chapter 3
Tinian agreed with Major Robert Furman: “Tinian, July 31.” Furman’s typewritten account of experiences on Tinian. (TINIAN.)
search the faces of the assembled brass: Interview with Robert Furman by author Richard Newcomb, Hotel Stacy-Trent, 17 May 1957.
a maneuver Furman found tricky: FOI, 15.
Birch . . . signed for the canisters: Ibid.
fifty-one Los Alamos scientists: Campbell, Richard H., and Paul W. Tibbets. The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012, 155.
scientist received a letter from his father: FURMAN ATOMIC, 20.
Furman believed using it would save: DRAFT, 8.
between an ex-policeman and future tree surgeon: Robert Furman Letter to Parents, dated simply “August,” Papers of Robert F. Furman, Library of Congress. Print, 1. (FOLKS.)
“Sinking confirmed. Obtained three torpedo hits”: Message intercepted 30 July 1945, from Captain, I-58 to Navy Vice Minister and Headquarters Combined Naval Force and others. Print. (ULTRA 1.)
magicians put the intercept into the mill: Memorandum from Commodore T. E. Van Metre to Admiral Snyder, 2 November 1945. Subject: Progress Report of the INDIANAPOLIS Case, 2.
Guam would simply wipe her off their map: CONEY, Naquin testimony, 493.
Chapter 5
a conviction that inspired confidence: Heroic at sea, J. J. Moran would survive the Indianapolis disaster only to die less than a year later, on 4 July 1946, in an accident aboard USS Albemarle. “Record of Burial Place of Veteran. Joseph John Moran.” Pennsylvania Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed 19 January 2018 at Ancestry.com.
Chapter 6
and if not for Eva: RHODES, 699.
ready for deployment the day before: Ibid.
the “Tinian Joint Chiefs”: “Project Alberta.” Atomic Heritage Foundation. Accessed 10 September 2017 at https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/project-alberta.
For Parsons, it was personal: Christman, Albert B. Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998, 174. (TARGET.)
dropped a dummy unit: RHODES, 699.
Farrell sent a message to Groves: Ibid.
Chapter 7
Eugene found it merely curious: On 2 October 2008, aboard the nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Ohio, Machinist Mate First Class (now Chief) Jason Witty stepped onto the deck, preparing himself for the solemn task he was about to perform. Sixty-three years earlier, Witty’s grandfather, Eugene Morgan, survived the sinking of Indianapolis after having served aboard the ship for nearly four years, earning ten battle stars. With the permission of his commanding officer, Captain Dennis Carpenter, Witty spread his grandfather’s ashes into the calm, blue waters of the Pacific—just above the last known coordinates of the Indianapolis—fulfilling his grandfather’s final wish that he be returned to the waters of the Pacific and the lost shipmates he so dearly loved. Source: email correspondence and interviews with Jason Witty.
Chapter 9
he made a pact with those around him: Sometimes in real life, heroes and villains wear the same uniform. The burden of the pact plagued these men their entire lives. These sailors shared the horrors they faced in interviews with Sara Vladic and just one other person, imploring them to keep the details to themselves forever. As the survivors aged, the f
inal living members of this group gave their blessing to share what really happened so that it would not be forgotten, but by doing so, saddled two more lives with the burden of carrying the torch. Sara, and the other individual entrusted with this information, determined it was time to share what happened. However, before including this account the authors first verified that all the facts lined up with the sworn testimonies given immediately after the rescue. It is important to help people understand the burden these men shouldered, to convey the tragic heroism it took to carry out these tasks, and the fortitude it took to live with the aftermath. Humanity is revealed at its most primal level when one is forced into an unimaginable situation and made to fight for life. It brings out the very best, or the very worst, in anyone. Out of respect for living descendants, the names of the sailors and the other individual entrusted with the account are withheld.
first noticed Indy’s absence: COI, Gibson testimony, 14.
“frequently becomes bewildered and ‘rattle brained’ ”: “Report on the Fitness of Officers,” Gibson, Stuart Baurland, period from 5 May 1944 to 1 January 1945. Signed by Forrest Tucker, Commander, USNR.
he wrote a rebuttal: Memorandum from Lieutenant Stuart B. Gibson to BUPERS (Bureau of Naval Personnel), 23 May 1945. Subject: Report on fitness this officer.
he supposed that meant nonarrivals, too: COI, Gibson testimony, 14.
Chapters 11 and 12
commencing their regular sector search: “Sighting of Survivors of USS Indianapolis; Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies and Debris 2–7 August 1945.” Record Group 125, Box 35. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (VPB-152) Also: Transcript of press interviews with the rescue pilots, Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilbur “Chuck” Gwinn, Lieutenant Adrian Marks, and Lieutenant Commander George Atteberry, conducted 6 August 1945 at Peleliu. Record Group 125, Box 35. National Archives, College Park, Maryland, 1. (PRESS.)
cruising at three thousand feet: PRESS, 1.
reeled out the antenna wire again: We Were There: The USS Indianapolis Tragedy, The Rest of the Story as Told by the Men Who Aided the Crew in This Tragedy. This book is a collection of first-person accounts and official reports from personnel and units involved in the rescue of Indianapolis survivors. Compiled by L. Peter Wren, a rescue boat officer at the scene. Richmond, VA: Wren Enterprizes, 2002. Print, 14. (WREN)
“Johnson, Hickman, reel that thing in”: Letter from Herb Hickman to Peter Wren, 26. (WREN.)
“Look down and you’ll see!”: Ibid., 27.
Take the bait, was all he could think: Woolston, LEGACY interview.
It took about twenty seconds: WREN, 27.
“Open the bomb bay doors”: FATAL, 151.
skimmed the ocean at nine hundred feet: VPB-152. 1. Also: PRESS, 1.
He thought of the men he knew: Personal Narrative by Captain Charles B. McVay III, USN, Sinking of USS Indianapolis, recorded 27 September 1945. Command File World War II. Indiana Historical Society. In this narrative, recorded on audio after McVay returned to Washington, D.C., he tells the story of his personal experience from the time just before the sinking through rescue. 17. (MCVAY NARRATIVE)
a case of Lucky Strike cigarettes: 317, Havins narrative, 204.
Morgan felt sorry for him: TORPEDOED, 34–35.
“Do you see it?”: TORPEDOED, 36. Also: LEGACY interview.
bumps on a cucumber: FATAL, 151.
“Secure from bomb run”: Ibid.
He checked the time—11:18 a.m.: PRESS, 1.
men waving, splashing, slapping the water: Ibid., 2.
THIRTY SURVIVORS SIGHTED. SEND ASSISTANCE: Ibid., 2. Also: VPB-152, 1.
flew straight toward the flotilla: Morgan account, 317, 351. Also: TORPEDOED, 31–32. LEGACY interview, 23–24.
a large yellow-green blotch: Account of air crewman Jim Graham, who was aboard Sam Worthington’s Mariner. WREN, 22.
Mariner zoomed over a group: Ibid.
spotted Gwinn’s Ventura: “Bomber Recalls WWII Rescue.” Wayne Independent, 25 August 2010. In 2008, according to this article, the telephone rang at the home of Gerard Fitzpatrick, another rescuer aboard Worthington’s Mariner. The caller identified himself as Paul McGinnis. McGinnis was the Indy signalman who thought everything was going to be okay when one of his buddies started sweeping up spilled sugar after Hashimoto’s torpedo strike. In 2008, McGinnis called Fitzpatrick and asked him whether he had been aboard one of the rescue planes that dropped casks of water near him on 2 August 1945. “Yes,” Fitzpatrick replied. McGinnis had grabbed one of the casks and held on until Doyle picked him up, he told Fitzpatrick. The cask “saved my life,” McGinnis said, “and I just wanted to say thank you.”
saw objects falling from Gwinn’s Ventura: Bray, LEGACY interview.
to cry, to splash, to pray: Harrell, LEGACY interview.
to say a farewell benediction: DEPTHS, 132.
Chapter 13
Atteberry decoded it himself: PRESS, 2.
Marks would have to leave immediately: Ibid., 3. Also: VPB-152, 1. And Memorandum for Air Operations Officer, Sub Area, Operations of VPB-23 on Indianapolis Rescue, 5 August–9 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (VPB-23.)
The time was 12:42 p.m.: The PRESS account says Atteberry departed at 12:42 p.m. The squadron record, “VPB-152,” says he departed at 12:44 p.m.
Probably one of the carrier boys: Address by R. Adrian Marks (Navy pilot who landed his PBY “Dumbo” in the Philippine Sea and rescued fifty-three Indianapolis survivors). Presented at the first USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Reunion, Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, IN, 30 July 1960, 1. (MARKS 1960.)
listening to Glenn Miller records: FATAL, 154.
he had graduated from Northwestern: Goldstein, Richard. “Adrian Marks, 81, War Pilot Who Led Rescue of 56, Is Dead.” New York Times, March 15, 1998. Accessed March 15, 2017.
eighty miles north of Palau: USS Cecil J. Doyle Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) August 2–4, 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. LCDR W. G. Claytor cited his position at the time he reversed course as 8°34'N 135°10'E, about eighty miles north of Palau. (CLAYTOR.)
the ship hailed him on the radio: AS, 143. Author Richard Newcomb interviewed Claytor.
it could take hours for new routing orders: Ibid.
He’d worry about the paperwork later: Claytor’s “Memorandum Report” on the Indianapolis rescue records that Doyle reversed course at 14:18. The Duty Officer’s log at Mark’s squadron, VPB-23, shows that Claytor was already en route to the rescue site by the time shore radio at Peleliu dispatched him there at 13:55. The Peleliu dispatch occurred almost an hour before Commander Western Caroline Sub Area 020245Z secret dispatch ordering all ships in the area to join the air-sea rescue.
this brave guy trying to swim for it: WREN, 23.
could he remove Indianapolis from the board?: ADS, 142.
a plainly worded query: Ibid., 143.
McCormick’s reply was equally plain: Ibid.
Chapter 14
they received a second message: PRESS, 3. Also: VPB-23, 1.
“What can you do to give me more speed?”: WREN, 80.
Doyle was wetting down shafts: Charles Doyle, LEGACY interview.
radio contact with Atteberry at 2:35 p.m.: CLAYTOR, 1.
a lot of them scattered over a wide area: PRESS, 1. VPB-152, 1.
NEED ALL SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT WHILE DAYLIGHT HOLDS: MARKS 1960, 2.
He did not pass the message to Marks’s skipper: Ibid.
the odds that these men would be spotted: Address by Adrian Marks, “I’ve Seen Greatness,” July 1985. Abridged transcript of speech delivered at the fortieth anniversary of the Indianapolis sinking and rescue, 1. (GREATNESS.)
a pilot could take in twenty square miles: Ibid.
Marks considered the odds: Ibid., 2.
James Bargsley . . . from the Philippine Sea Frontier: WREN,
39.
“All ahead, flank speed”: Notes from Albert Lutz made within two days of Bassett’s participation in the rescue. (LUTZ NOTES.) WREN, 44.
medical department came to full alert: Ibid.
At 4:05 p.m., the crew opened a hatch: MARKS NARRATIVE, 1.
Thelen heard Marks’s plane: Thelen’s account of losing his friends is based on Thelen, LEGACY interview. Also: 317, 473.
He let go of the floater net and swam away: The account of Hershberger saving Lebow’s life is based on Lebow and Hershberger LEGACY interviews. Also: Additional interviews with Lebow by Lynn Vincent conducted in 2017.
Chapter 15
Marks made a rebel decision: PRESS, 4.
little more than a controlled crash: Second Emergency Rescue Squadron, unknown member. “Rescued from the Sea.” PBY.org. Accessed March 28, 2017. http://www.pbyrescue.com/Stories/rescue%20story.pdf. This article was critical in helping describe the physics of Lieutenant Adrian Marks’s landing of his PBY-5A Catalina flying boat, or “Dumbo,” and rescuing fifty-three Indianapolis survivors.
many survivors who wouldn’t last: PRESS, 4.
what sort of fool stunt: MARKS 1960, 3.
He dared the ocean to defy him: Interview by Sara Vladic with Lieutenant Adrian Marks’s daughter, Alexes.
executed a power stall into the wind: PRESS, 4.
rivets popping from her hull: Ibid.
Hensley worked with the plane captain: Ibid.
Lefkowitz went aft to organize: Ibid.
Hensley stood in the open hatch: Letter from Marks’s copilot, Lefkowitz. WREN, 20. Also: GREATNESS, 2–3.
a seaman second who had been serving his time: James Smith had served aboard Indy since December 1943—and not without picking up a few tricks along the way. Only twenty years old, he obtained a fake ID that said he was twenty-one. The world then his for the taking, Smith packed his civilian clothes in a paper bag, went ashore, and hopped on a bus to Oakland, where he got drunk, met a girl, and stayed the night. But he also failed to check in with the ship every four hours as required. Several days later, Smith went to “Captain’s Mast,” a disciplinary proceeding where Eugene Morgan, the sailor who would later brave dangerous waters to retrieve supplies only to have his underwear snatched off by a shark, presided as master at arms. Smith’s sentence: five days in the brig and a one-hundred-dollar fine. Released just hours before the sinking, he survived the five-day ordeal after having eaten only bread and water for the five days before. Source: Sara Vladic, telephone and email discussion with James Smith, January 2018.
