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In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

Description

Now available for the first time in trade paperback, the bestselling account of America’s worst naval disaster—and of the heroism of the men who, against all odds, survived

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated three hundred men were killed upon impact; close to nine hundred sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they struggled to stay alive, battered by a savage sea and fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time help arrived—nearly four days and nights later—all but 317 men had died. How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And how did these 317 men manage to survive? Interweaving the stories of three survivors—the captain, the ship’s doctor, and a young marine—journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless.

The definitive account of this harrowing chapter of World War II history—already a bestseller in its hardcover and mass market editions—In Harm’s Way is a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.

On July 26, 1945, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis steamed into port at the Pacific island of Tinian, carrying a cargo that would end World War II: the uranium that would be dropped on Hiroshima just three weeks later. Having delivered its load without incident, Indianapolis moved on toward the Philippines to join the great armada moving in on Japan. Though intelligence reports assured Captain Charles McVay that the route from Guam to Leyte was safe, there were Japanese submarines active in the area. On the night of July 29, having detected with sonar the clinking of dishes aboard the Indianapolis from a distance of more than a dozen miles, the submarine I-58 sank the American ship, killing nearly 900 sailors in the explosion and its terrible aftermath.

Captain McVay was quickly court-martialed for having failed to follow evasive maneuvers, "the first captain in the history of the U.S. Navy," Doug Stanton observes, "to be court-martialed subsequent to losing his ship in an act of war." Although the sailors under his command would insist that McVay had been scapegoated, and although I-58's commander testified before the court that "he would have sunk the Indianapolis no matter what course she was on," McVay was never able to clear his name. He committed suicide in 1968.

Stanton captures the drama of these events in his vigorous narrative, which augments and updates Richard Newcomb's Abandon Ship!. Stanton observes that although McVay was exonerated by an act of Congress in 2000, the conviction still stands in Navy records. Stanton's book makes a powerful case for why that conviction should be overturned, and why the captain and crew of the Indianapolis deserve honor. --Gregory McNamee

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-25
Summary: "Missing but not missed (4.5 stars)"

In the final days of World War II, one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the US Navy occurred: the U.S.S. Indianapolis and its crew of 1,196 men went missing... and the few who noticed did nothing about it. On July 26, 1945, the Indianapolis delivered - unbeknownst to its crew - the uranium that would be used in the atomic bombs dropped on Japan less than two weeks later. In a cruel twist of irony, while it steamed on to the Philippines three nights later (July 29), the Indy was hit by torpedoes launched from one of the few Japanese submarines left patrolling the sea. It was estimated that 300 men died instantly and 900 went into the ocean in the short 20 minutes it took the ship to sink. The men who survived the sinking were in terrible shape, many of them wounded and burned, with few rafts and floatation vests available to them as they floated in the fuel oil released by their dead ship.

Drawing on the testimonies of the survivors, particularly Private Giles McCoy, ship's doctor Lewis Haynes, and ship's captain Charles McVay, author Doug Stanton tells the story of the crew's ordeal. Covered in oil - many of them having swallowed some of it - and floating in harsh saltwater for days, the men had few options as they drifted further apart. Many who were injured were the first to die. Others went crazy and drowned themselves or turned on one another. And then there were the sharks, circling all day long and attacking at dusk and dawn. It was estimated that 200 men were killed by the hungry predators. In the end, only 317 survived.

But the real tragedy was the missed opportunities when they might have been rescued. The last minute SOS message sent as the ship sank was disregarded and search ships called back. The Indy's failure to show up at the expected time didn't provoke any response from the Navy in the Philippines, either. Even after their rescue, additional indignity was heaped upon them as the Navy court-martialed Captain McVay, despite evidence that he had acted prudently (even the Japanese submarine commander testified that there was nothing the Indy could have done to avoid being sunk!). None of those who failed to act upon reports of the missing ship received so much as a meaningful reprimand.

This is the kind of story you read, not because it has a happy ending or displays American perseverance in the face of adversity, but because of the sacrifice that has been made to preserve the liberties we take for granted.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-23
Summary: "Incredible story in a magnificant piece of literature. You won't put this book down!"

"In Harm's Way" tells one of the most remarkable stories of US Navy history. The way the story is written provides interest while keeping true to the facts. The story is described nicely so those "landlubbers" who are not familar with naval lingo understand the terms completely. Areas and events are described accuratly and efficiently. The story is truly remarkable, I cannot put it in any other terms. One of my favorites. You may not want to begin reading this book as you get ready to sleep however, as it is a struggling effort to stop and put this book down prior to finish. NOTICE: I highly suggest you read the Preface, unlike many who skip this part completely. It plays a large part in the book.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-30
Summary: "Those in peril on the sea"

The sinking of the USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945, was a seminal event in WWII, but it was largely overshadowed by other events that summer -- namely, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the ensuring surrender of the Japanese forces. That said, when the Indy went down, 879 Americans lost their lives. It remains one of the largest maritime disasters in US history.

"In Harm's Way" tells the story of this disaster from the sailors' perspective. Doug Stanton chronicles the ship's ill-fated journey across the Pacific, aided by hundreds of interviews with survivors. To his credit, the author doesn't get weighed down with too much detail about the ship's history or the sailors' backgrounds. This material is briefly addressed early in the book, and then the heart of the story begins to unfold. The description of the torpedo attack that sunk the ship is well told, and the tension continues to build as Stanton describes the initial survivors' ordeal for four-plus days on the open seas.

At the center of the story is Capt. Charles McVay III, the career navy man who was in command of the Indianapolis when it sank. McVay was rescued at sea, but was quickly court-martialed for "failing to zigzag" while in enemy waters. This injustice casts an even darker cloud on the calamity. Stanton describes the many years of efforts to expunge this conviction from McVay's record.

My only quibble with the book is that it doesn't offer much from the Japanese perspective. Stanton describes the moments leading up to and following the attack onboard the I-58, the submarine that torpedoed the Indy. But there's no evidence of any interviews with Japanese participants, or any research of Japanese news or naval archives. E.g., how were Hashimoto and the crew treated following the war?; what became of the I-58 after it left the attack site?; and so forth. But this is a minor shortcoming of a great book. Of the many books dedicated to WWII history, "In Harm's Way" should be remembered as one of the most compelling and readable.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-30
Summary: "A must-read for those interested in U.S. History"

Short and sweet: This is a gut wrentching story that sparked an emotion in me like no other book has ever done before. While reading this book, especially when this ship goes down, I found myself right in the story and I did not want to put the book down. I read it in record time and no doubtedly will read again in the near future. This is a story that I was never really aware of until recently. I can now say that I served in the Navy proudly and am honored to have been shipmates with such brave souls as these who survived the hell as well as those great men who perrished on the USS "Indy". God bless.

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Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-06-28
Summary: "A Riviating Story of Tragedy"

The USS Indianapolis and the horrific events surrounding its sinking are well known by most, even those who know nothing about the history that lead to this tragedy. It is made reference too in prominent in cultural events like the movie 'Jaws'. In this book the author uses first hand accounts from survivors of this tragedy whose burden was laid on the shoulder of the late Captain Charles Butler McVay. A man and commander you will learn had perform his duties well and ended up being a scape goat for the mistakes of the U.S. Military Intelligence service, erroneous assumptions by General Staff Officers and a series of unimaginable omissions by communication offices that received the ships messages and more. That these mistakes leading up to this incident could take place are unthinkable for a capital war ship.

This old cruiser was sitting in dockyard in San Francisco getting repairs after a direct hit by a kamikaze attack. The shipyard rush estimate was four months to make repairs. For not only was their a large hole in the structure but the fuel cells and water desalinization plant had been damaged. Unknown to the crew of the USS Indianapolis they were about to become infamous for not only transporting the first Atomic bomb that would be used to attack Japan but for what transpired once they had successfully completed their highly secretive mission at record speed. All this in a ship that was at that time given four days to get ready to sail instead of four months required.

The tragedy these 1,196 men stand out to other ship sinking because of all the aforementioned sequences of errors. When the I-58 submarine launched its spread of torpedoes at the USS Indianapolis no one in CNINCPAC knew where the ship was, what its true destination was or even what its arrival time was suppose to be. The damage to the ship caused by two powerful torpedo included both radio rooms so there would be no search and rescue for these men. Of the 1,196 men only 321 men survived to be rescued; it is assumed that 300 died from the attack while the remaining succumbed to the savages of the deep open sea.

From there, unfortunate coincidence turns to bitter irony and real tragedy. Damage to the radio rooms was so great and the ship sank so fast, that they did not get a chance to radio for help. Meanwhile, again for security reasons, port authorities had been ordered not to relay messages every time a ship arrived and had interpreted the order to mean that they shouldn't report non-arrivals either. Of the 1,196 men on board, 300 probably died immediately, but while the other 900 struggled in the water, no one yet knew of their dilemma. Eventually the remainder who perished succumbed to sharks, salt water, hypothermia, injuries sustained in the sinking, fights among the men, and a host of other maladies. Of the 321 rescued four died almost immediately and others would take decades before the nightmares of that time drove some to suicide.

We get to know about the staff and crew of this ship as the crew boards the USS Indianapolis when repairs were ordered accelerated and their time record breaking sail. The author brings the ship to life and makes us feel as if we know these sailors. The books is written in such an engaging narrative that it is a book you will not want to put down. For such a horrible tragedy it is a wonderful read that shows the endurance, strength despair and loyalty of the human spirit to survive. In the same light you will see the US Navy hide all their mistakes and lay it all on the shoulders of Captain McVay who killed himself in 1968. This was the only ships captain to that point in US Naval history to be brought before a Court-Martial for having been sunk by an act of war. And this at a time of war! Thanks to a High School student in Florida class project the US Congress finally passed an amendment exonerating McVay and recommending citations for the crew on 12 October 2000.