In 1945 the USS Indianapolis sailed on a top secret mission to deliver components that would constitute one of the atomic bombs that would be dropped on Japan to the U.S. Army on the island of Tinian. Departing for the Philippines, the Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Of those on board, 300 men died while the remaining 890 abandoned ship. With few lifeboats and no food or water, the remaining 890 crew members faced exposure to the elements, dehydration, and shark attacks. 316 survived to be rescued by the Navy five days later.
This week the crew of the USS Indianapolis were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
The ship's captain, Charles B. McVay III, was scapegoated by the Navy in the aftermath of the disaster. McVay was court-martialed because he did not sail the Indianapolis in a zigzag pattern. Amazingly, the captain of the Japanese submarine who sank the Indianapolis testified that zigzagging would not have made any difference. Whether McVay should have used such an evasive tactic while underway was left to his own discretion, rather than formalized as an order. He had no idea that a Japanese submarine was active in the area, and had been denied escort by a Navy destroyer. Despite, this he was found guilty at court-martial.
McVay retired to Connecticut where he had a small shed where he would make wooden model ships. He would receive letters and phone calls from the parents of sailors who died under his command, blaming him for their deaths.
On November 6, 1968, McVay walked into his front lawn with a toy sailor figure in one hand and a revolver in his other hand. He put the gun to his head and died by suicide.
“I used to play with that toy sailor,” his grandson told a reporter years later. He and his brother were told by their family that McVay died in a hunting accident.
It wasn't until 2000 that Congress officially exonerated McVay for the loss of the USS Indianapolis.
This Thursday a virtual ceremony for the Congressional Gold Medal was streamed online. It included an introduction by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the national anthem, and a presentation by a Naval historian, the Secretary of the Navy, the governor of Indiana, and other politicians. Sen. Chuck Schumer stated that the Gold Medal is presented to the 8 crew members of the Indianapolis that are still alive today, but that it is intended for all 1200 crew members.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
