Indianapolis

by Lynn Vincent

  Naval Message dated 14 August 1945 requiring that all reporters’ stories about the loss of Indianapolis to be forwarded by airmail to the Secretary of the Navy. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  Pacific Dispatches, Commander in Chief Chart Room Files, November 1945. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  Pacific Dispatches, Commander in Chief Chart Room Files, 1 July–15 August 1945. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. These records consist mainly of naval messages classified confidential to top secret (since declassified). They tracked hostile submarine sightings and antisubmarine warfare actions, U.S. attacks on Japanese forces and on the home islands, Japanese attacks on U.S. naval forces, and battle damage/casualties resulting from all of the above. In addition, these messages tracked some movement of flag officers throughout the Pacific theater. One very interesting message from CincPac Advance, dated 16 August 1945, states that it is “incumbent on all officers to conduct themselves with dignity and decorum in their treatment of the Japanese and their public utterances in connection with the Japanese race.” The message reminds recipients of Japan’s treachery and treatment of Allied prisoners, but states that “the use of insulting epithets in connection with the Japanese as a race or as individuals does not now become the officers of the United States Navy. . . . Neither familiarity and open forgiveness nor abuse and vituperation should be permitted.”

  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. (MCVAY NARRATIVE)

  “Plane Crash and Bomb Damage, USS Indianapolis CA 35.” Technical drawing of damage done to the ship by 31 March 1945 kamikaze attack. National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  Records of the 7th Fleet, Antisubmarine Warfare Reports. Record Group 38, Box 198, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (This box contains the 7th Fleet Antisubmarine analysis for July 1945.)

  Report of Torpedoing, Resultant Sinking of and Circumstance Subsequent Thereto East of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, USS Indianapolis, 30 July 1945–3 August 1945, Charles B. McVay III.

  U.S. Fleet Hospital #114, Casualty Reporting, 5 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35. National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  War Diary, USS Indianapolis, March 1945. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. (MARCH WAR)

  War Diary, USS Indianapolis, April 1945. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. (APRIL WAR)

  War Diary, USS Indianapolis, May 1945. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. (MAY WAR)

  Intelligence: U.S. Navy Documents and Reports

  Office of Naval Intelligence, Intercepted Enemy Radio Traffic & Related Documentation, [Japan] Naval Vessels I-39 to Naval Vessels I-53. Record Group 38, Box 1386, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (This box contains original “carded” radio intercepts marked “Top Secret-ULTRA.”) (ULTRA 1)

  Office of Naval Intelligence, Intercepted Enemy Radio Traffic & Related Documentation, [Japan] Naval Vessels I-53 to Naval Vessels I-156. Record Group 38, Box 1387, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (This box contains original “carded” radio intercepts marked “Top Secret-ULTRA.”) (ULTRA 2)

  McVay and Court-Martial: U.S. Navy Documents and Reports

  I-58 route from Hirao, Japan, to site of attack on Indianapolis, an exhibit in “Record of Proceedings of a General Court-Martial Convened at the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., by Order of the Secretary of the Navy, Case of Charles B. McVay, 3rd.” 3 December 1945.” National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  Investigation of Sinking of USS Indianapolis. By order of the Chief of Naval Operations, 6 December 1945. This lengthy record documents what would come to be called the “supplemental investigation” conducted by Commodore Thomas Van Metre and Captain Charles Coney. (CONEY)

  Selected Exhibits:

  • Dispatches and correspondence relative to all “Messages transmitted from Guam 28 and 29 July 1945 addressed to ships and referring to enemy submarine contacts.”

  • Dispatch and Extracts from CincPac War Diary, reference merchant ship Wild Hunter sighting of submarine periscope.

  • Dispatches on the subject of “Escort Policy.”

  • Dispatches with reference sinking of Underhill.

  • Letter from commanding officer, USCGC Bibb, dated 9 January 1946, re: “Distress message connection loss of USS Indianapolis.”

  • Memorandum from Captain W. R. Smedburg III to Commodore Thomas Van Metre, relative to a top secret dispatch sent from Commander in Chief and CNO to CincPac Advance Headquarters on 7 August 1945.

  • Memorandum from Lt. Stuart B. Gibson to BUPERS (Bureau of Naval Personnel), 23 May 1945. Subject: Report on fitness of this officer.

  • PacFleet Confidential Letter 10CL-45, 26 January 1945 (This was the letter issued by Commodore James Carter stating that no arrival reports would be made for combatant ships.)

  • Routing orders, USS Indianapolis.

  • Roster of Officers, list of survivors and roster of surviving officers, USS Indianapolis.

  • “Report on the Fitness of Officers,” Gibson, Stuart Baurland, period from 5 May 1944 to 1 January 1945. Signed by Forrest Tucker, Commander, USNR.

  • Secret letter, dated 20 January 1946 from Commander Clarke Withers, USNR, to the Naval Inspector General. Subject: “Distress message received by USS Hyperion from the USS Indianapolis.”

  • Transcripts of witness testimony, 616 pages. (Forty-eight witnesses and a total of 5,066 questions. The testimony spanned the period from 31 October 1945 to 28 December 1945.)

  • Wartime Pacific Routing Instructions.

  Memorandum from Admiral Chester Nimitz re Court of Inquiry into the Sinking of USS Indianapolis, September 6, 1945. “The Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, does not agree with the court in its recommendation that Captain Charles B. McVay III, U.S. Navy, be brought to trial by general court-martial . . .” Naval History and Heritage Command. Accessed online 27 November 2016.

  Memoranda between the admirals related to the Navy’s supplemental investigation of the sinking (listed in date order):

  • “Memorandum for Admiral King: Progress Report of USS Indianapolis Case.” Undated. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • Memorandum, Van Metre, T. E., to Admiral Snyder. “Progress Report of Indianapolis Case.” 2 November 1945. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • Memorandum, King, Ernest, to James Forrestal. “Subject: Court of Inquiry.” 9 November 1945. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (Date is handwritten.)

  • Naval Inspector General to Chief of Naval Operations. “Subject: Your Memorandum 10 November 1945 as to the status of my supplementary investigation into the sinking of the Indianapolis.” 10 November 1945. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, Entry A1-22.

  • Memorandum, Van Metre, T. E., to Naval Inspector General. No subject. Begins: “With reference to the memorandum . . .” 10 November 1945. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • Memorandum, Naval Inspector General to Chief of Naval Operations. Subject: Progress of Indianapolis case. 10 November 1945. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • Memorandum, Naval Inspector General to Chief of Naval Operations. “Subject: Report of Progress on further investigation of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the delay in reporting the loss of that ship.” 30 November 1945. Courts of In
quiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • Memorandum, Admiral C. P. Snyder to the Secretary of the Navy. “Further investigation into matters connected with the loss of USS Indianapolis. This message describes the processing of enemy intelligence, in particular the intercept of Hashimoto’s report that he had sunk an enemy ship. Courts of Inquiry, 18 May 1932 to June 1953. Folder 290–296, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  • “Witnesses.” List written in pencil listing high-ranking witnesses to be called in the Navy’s supplemental investigation of the sinking of Indianapolis. Referred to in the court-martial narrative as “the penciled witness list.”

  Naval Message from Admiral Nimitz, CincPac Advance Headquarters, dated 11 August 1945, ordering the Court of Inquiry at Guam. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  “Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry Convened at Headquarters, Commander Marianas, Guam, by Order of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas,” 13 August 1945. Holdings of Naval History and Heritage Command, obtained by the authors on 24 October 2017. (COI)

  Rescue: U.S. Navy Documents and Reports, Rescue of Indianapolis Survivors

  “Bodies Found by USS French (DE-367).” Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (FRENCH.)

  Deck Log, USS Bassett, 4 August 1945. Courtesy of Bassett rescuer L. Peter Wren, the ensign who commanded one of the landing craft that picked up survivors. (BASSETT DECK)

  List of Known Dead of USS Indianapolis. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (KNOWN)

  List of Missing Personnel—USS Indianapolis. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (This list is eighteen pages long and to read it is heart-wrenching.)

  List of Survivors of USS Indianapolis. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  “Lt. Adrian Marks Testimony, 2 Aug 1945, Archives Release #967133.” Print. (MARKS)

  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)

  Memorandum from Commander Western Carolines Sub Area to Admiral King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet: Rescue and Search for Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and Recovery, Identification and Burial of Bodies, 15 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (BODIES)

  Naval Message from Commander Donald Todd, USS Madison, to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier dated 4 August 1945. “Bassett returning to Leyte with about 150 survivors . . . Rafts and survivors scattered 50 miles. . . . Continued air search 100 miles from 1–42 133–20 strongly recommended. Will continue search until relieved.” Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (TODD 2)

  Naval Message from Lieutenant Commander William Claytor, skipper of USS Cecil J. Doyle, dated 2 August 1945. This was the message that “landed like a bomb in the upper echelon of the Pacific Fleet.” Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Another copy of this message, passed by CincPac/POA) is the one marked in red pencil, “HOLD DO NOT SHOW.”

  Naval Message from Commander William Meyer, skipper of USS Ringness, dated 3 August 1945. Record Group 38, Box 83, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. Meyer is notifying CincPac Advance and additional addressees that Ringness was en route to Peleliu with thirty-nine survivors of Indianapolis, including Captain Charles Butler McVay III. The latter part of the message gives the date and approximate location of the sinking and reads, “Speed 17 not zigzagging.”

  “Record of Air Support, 3 August–5 August, 1945.” Commander Donald W. Todd, skipper of USS Madison and Senior Officer Present Afloat during rescue operations. Indiana Historical Society, USS Indianapolis Collection. (TODD)

  “Record of Flight Operations in Search for Survivors from USS Indianapolis (CA 35), 2 August 1945.” Indiana Historical Society, USS Indianapolis Collection.

  Search Operations of USS Register (APD-92) for Survivors of USS Indianapolis, 8 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (REGISTER)

  “Sighting of Survivors of USS Indianapolis; Participation in Air-Sea Rescue and Subsequent Search for Bodies, 2–7 August 1945.” Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. This is a narrative of air operations in support of rescue operations written by Lieutenant Richard C. Alcorn, who also landed his PBY and rescued a survivor. (VPB-152)

  Statement Concerning Sighting of Survivors of CA-35 USS Indianapolis on 2 August 1945, Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilbur Gwinn, 3 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (DOYLE WAR)

  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. (PRESS)

  USS Cecil J. Doyle War Diary, 1 August–31 August 1945. Holdings of Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

  USS Cecil J. Doyle Memorandum Report on Rescue of Survivors of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) 2 August–4 August 1945. Record Group 125, Box 35, National Archives, College Park, Maryland. (CLAYTOR)

  Navy Documents and Reports (General)

  Damage Report, USS Franklin, Bomb Damage Honshu, 19 March 1945. Holdings of Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

  “Joint Chiefs of Staff 924/15, 25 April, CCS 381 Pacific Ocean Operations. Section 11, Record Group 218. National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  Manual for Buglers, U.S. Navy, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Original edition 1919. Reprinted with minor corrections 1951 and with changes 1953. Accessed online 29 February 2016.

  “Naval Material Conditions.” Naval Reserve Force Information Service. Accessed at: http://www.usshancockcv19.com/navalmaterialconditions.htm. (YOKE)

  Okinawa Operations Record of 32d Army. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: n.p., 1949. Print. (JM135)

  Pacific Dispatches, Commander in Chief Chart Room Files, November 1945. Record Group 38, Box 86, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

  United States Pacific Fleet Commander First Carrier Task Force. Report. Vol. Serial: 00222. A16-3. 18 June 1945. http://ftp.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Okinawa/TF58/index.html (PAC-FLEET)

  United States. U.S. Navy. Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations. Third Report to the Secretary of the Navy. By Ernest J. King. N.p., 1945. 1 March 1945–1 October 1945. U.S. Navy at War, 1941–1945 (Off. Reports to SecNav from CNO) [Third Report]. United States Fleet. Web. (HYPER)

  White House and Congressional Documents and Reports

  “The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Subsequent Court-Martial of Rear Adm. Charles B. McVay III, USN.” Transcript of hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate. 106th Congress, First Session, 14 September 1999.

  The White House. “Statement by the President of the United States.” Press release by the White House, 6 August 1945. Ayers Papers, Subject File. U.S. Army, Press releases, the atomic bomb and atomic energy. (DIARY)

  U.S. Congress. Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 7, May 24, 2000, to June 12, 2000. 106th Congress, Second Session, Cong. Rept. 146, Pt. 7. http://books.google.com/books?id=z6E993ZslkAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. (CONGRESS2000)

  Warner, John W, biography. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed 10 June 2017. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000154.

  Primary Source Material about Captain Charles B. McVay III

  “Address by RADM Charles B. McVay.” Presented at the first USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Reunion, 30 July 1960. Reunion material provided to the authors by the family of survivor Felton Outland, Sr.
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br />   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.

  “Captain McVay’s military record should now reflect that he is exonerated for the loss of the USS Indianapolis . . . ,” Addition to the Personnel Record of Rear Admiral Charles McVay III by Secretary of Navy Gordon R. England, 11 July 2001. Naval History and Heritage Command. Accessed online 4 August 2016.

  Charles B. McVay III, handwritten copy of speech for the Indianapolis survivors’ first reunion. Delivered at the Severin Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana. This longhand version is incomplete and appears to be different from the copy of the speech released to the press. Indiana Historical Society. USS Indianapolis Collection.

  Military Service Record of Rear Admiral Charles B. McVay III, obtained from the National Archives via Persons of Exceptional Prominence program, October 2016.

  “The Sinking of USS Indianapolis: Recollections of Captain Charles B. McVay III.” World War II Interviews, Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center. Accessed online 25 July 2016.

  Interviews by the Authors

  “Legacy On-Camera Interviews with survivors, survivors’ families, rescue crew, and families of men lost at sea,” 2005–2016, conducted by Sara Vladic. Total of 119 interviews, 170 hours of footage. (LEGACY)

  Includes on-camera interviews with forty-three survivors of the sinking of USS Indianapolis conducted over more than a decade, as well as an additional thirty-six audio and in-person survivor interviews completed for research. The following is a complete list of LEGACY interviews:

  SURVIVORS: William Akines, Lloyd Barto, Donald Beaty, James Belcher, Maurice Bell, Louis Bitonti, Bryan Blanthorn, Donald Blum, Harold Bray, Victor Buckett, Robert Bunai, Louis Campbell, Loyd Carter, Grover Carver, Adolfo Celaya, Frank Centazzo, L. D. Cox, Granville Crane, Bill Drayton, Louis Erwin, Verlin Fortin, Buck Gibson, Thomas Goff, Edgar Harrell, Lewis Haynes, John Heller, Clarence Hershberger, George Horvath, John Howison, Clarence Hupka, Melvin Jacob, Woodie James, James Jarvis, Tony (A. C.) King, George Kurlich, Michael Kuryla, Kenley Lanter, George Laws, Cleatus Lebow, Arthur Leenerman, Sam Lopez, Donald Mack, Salvador Maldonado, Donald McCall, Paul McGinnis, Robert McGuiggan, Charles McVay, Glen Milbrodt, Donald Miller (former crew), Norval Mitchell, Melvin Modisher, Joseph Moran, Eugene Morgan, Glenn Morgan, Morgan Moseley, Paul Murphy, Troy Nunley, James O’Donnell, Felton Outland, Richard Paroubek, Lyle Pasket, Santos Pena, Gerald Poor, James Denny Price, Earl Riggins, Donald Shown, James Smith, John Spinelli, Florian Stamm, Richard Stephens, Richard Thelen, William Thurkettle, Harlan Twible, Lyle Umenhoffer, George Whiting, Lindsey Wilcox, Robert Witzig, John Woolston. Former crew: Robert Laney, Donald Miller, Hal Weddington.