Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

I intended to write about this on July 30 (yesterday). Yesterday was the actual date of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis after it successfully delivered the atomic bomb to Tinian.

It was one of the worst naval disasters in US Naval history.

At 14 minutes past midnight, on 30 July 1945, midway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, she was hit by two torpedoes out of six fired by the I-58, a Japanese submarine. The first blew away the bow, the second struck near midship on the starboard side adjacent to a fuel tank and a powder magazine. The resulting explosion split the ship to the keel, knocking out all electric power. Within minutes she went down rapidly by the bow, rolling to starboard. 

Can you imagine?

Of the 1,196 aboard, about 900 made it into the water in the twelve minutes before she sank. Few life rafts were released. Most survivors wore the standard kapok life jacket. Shark attacks began with sunrise of the first day and continued until the men were physically removed from the water, almost five days later.

The whole ship went down in only twelve minutes. That's real terror. And then you're in the ocean for five days. I can't begin to understand that kind of fear.

Here's how most people (myself included) first heard the story of the USS Indianapolis. Although it's not entirely inaccurate, it still remains one of the best scenes of the movie. 

God bless those men and all who served. I can't imagine a more hellish fate. I know that the attrition rate for infantry units was high in certain land battles, but when Navy ships go down, there aren't usually many survivors. I have a ton of respect for the men who go out to sea in defense of our nation.

Give me an M-1 rifle and a foxhole any day.

Farewell and adieu to ye fair Spanish ladies...