Delivering the Atomic Bomb

Delivering the Atomic Bomb

• Following repair work, the USS Indianapolis was rerouted to San Francisco on July 15 to pick up cargo

• The Navy Yard appeared quiet and almost deserted

• The ship docked and two large trucks arrived

• One truck loaded a large crate into the port hanger

• The other truck carried men, including Army officers CAPT James F. Nolan and MAJ Robert R. Furman

• Later the narrator found out Nolan was a medical officer, possibly monitoring radiation

• The officers transported a canister, measuring 3x4 feet, to ADM Spruance's cabin

• The canister contained nuclear components for the bomb, while the large box held the device to trigger the bomb

• On July 16, CAPT McVay informed his staff about a special mission

• McVay stated that every day spent on the trip was considered "a day off the war"

• In case of an "abandon ship" situation, the contents of the admiral's cabin had to be evacuated first

• The ship refueled at a quiet Pearl Harbor and proceeded to Tinian at 25-26 knots

• Everyone was at Condition Able, working 4 hours on and 4 hours off

• The journey from San Francisco to Tinian lasted 10 days

• At Tinian, Air Force officers unloaded the special cargo

• The narrator suspected something important was in the crates

Torpedo Hit

• On July 29, due to administering cholera shots to the crew all day, the narrator declined a poker game and retired to bed

• An explosion woke the narrator, throwing them in the air

• A torpedo detonated under the narrator's room

• After hitting the edge of the bunk and the deck, a second explosion occurred

• The narrator grabbed their life jacket and tried to escape the fire

• The narrator's neighbor Ken Stout directed them to the main passageway

• Stout yelled "Look out!" and raised his hands

• A wall of fire burned the narrator's hair, face, and the back of their hands

• That was the last time the narrator saw Ken

• The narrator attempted to reach the fo'c'sle deck via the forward ladder, but fire blocked the way

• While attempting to go aft, the narrator slipped and fell getting third-degree burns on their hands and feet

• The narrator turned aft to go back through the wardroom, reached a smoke-filled area and became lost, eventually falling into an easy chair unable to breath

• After someone fell on the narrator, and yelled they were fainting; they got a shot of adrenaline allowing them to force their way out

• Someone yelled to open a porthole

• All power was out and there was a red haze

• The ship began to list

• The narrator found an open porthole with a dangling rope left by two others

• Thinking they couldn't get out the porthole, they grabbed the rope attached to an overhanging floater net

• After getting to the port hanger and battle station, the narrator found the chief, [CPhM John A.] Shmueck, and casualties

• While trying to treat badly burned men, an officer ordered the narrator to get life jackets on the patients

• The narrator and Shmueck got life jackets and started putting them on the patients

• While putting a life jacket on a warrant officer, the ship tipped over

• The warrant officer and other patients slid away, and most likely died

• All the rescue gear went down along with the patients

Into the Water

• The narrator walked down the ship's side and gave an extra jacket to another kid

• The narrator and the kid jumped into the fuel oil-covered water

• The hull was covered with people.

• Trying to avoid getting sucked down, the narrator swam away

• The ship rose up, and began to sink, while still traveling at 3-4 knots

• The ship sank 100 yards away and the survivors were spread out over a mile

• After 12 minutes since the torpedoes struck, the ship was gone

• The black fuel oil got in their nose and eyes

• Everyone looked the same, swallowed fuel oil, got sick, and began vomiting

• When someone yelled for a doctor, the narrator made themself known

• Due to being kept busy the narrator became a coroner

• Many lacked life jackets

• The kapok life jacket had a space in the back, and the injured could put their arm through and put them on their hip

• Those with jackets supported those without, holding them in tandem

• At daylight, they organized into a group

• out of 700-800 men that made it out the ship, they had 300-400 men in their group

• Dilated pupils with no blink indicated death

• The dead’s life jackets were given those without

• In the beginning the narrator took off their dogtags, said The Lord's Prayer, and let them go

• Over time collecting the dogtags became overwhelming

• Later, the oil was helpful in preventing sunburn but the reflection was blinding

• Strips of clothing was used to shield the sun

• On the second night (Monday), they massed together with the wounded held in the middle

• Someone found a life ring

• A sick man was supported across it

• The narrator gave advice, buried the dead, secured life jackets, and tried to stop the men from drinking salt water

• Some would get diarrhoea, then get more dehydrated, then become very maniacal and they had to be shoved away towards the end

• Chills led to fever and delirium

• On Tuesday night, a man began yelling, "There's a Jap here and he's trying to kill me."

• Overnight after they untied themselves and scattered in all directions; there were fewer

• Mass hallucinations occurred

• Everyone got in a long line and those ahead of them saw an island only they thought was there

• It was hard to convince them it wasn’t there

• The narrator even fought hallucinations

• The narrator only saw one shark

• The narrator never saw people attacked by the sharks however, 56 mutilated bodies were recovered

• Maybe the sharks were satisfied with the dead and left the living alone

Rescue

• On Thursday, August 2, the plane spotted them in very bad shape

• The kapok life jacket becomes waterlogged in 48 hours

• Everyone knew it wasn’t long before they all died when a plane flew over

• Someone on that plane had a sore neck, fixed the aerial and laid down in the blister underneath and spotted them

• The plane dropped life jackets with canisters of water but they had ruptured

• A PBY showed up and dropped rubber life rafts

• We put the sick people aboard and the others hung around the side

• A flask of water with a 1-ounce cup was doled out

• The narrator found a kit for making fresh water out of salt water but it did not work right, so they threw it away

• A PBY circled and made an open-sea landing

• It taxied around picking up the singles

• It stayed on the water during the night turned his searchlight up into the sky so the Cecil J. Doyle could find them

• The Cecil J. Doyle had a big net down over the side

• Some of the sailors came down the side of the netting and pulled our rafts alongside

• Sailors put a rope around the narrator, who was too weak to climb up

• The narrator was given a glass of water with a mark on it and would only give them so much water

• The skipper asked the narrator what ship they came from

• The narrator said that they were what was left of the Indianapolis

• At the next thing they knew, the narrator was sitting in a shower while corpsmen/seamen were cleaning the oil/wounds off them

• After put in a bunk, the narrator passed out for 12 hours and recalled passing fuel oil in their first bowel movement

• The Cecil J. Doyle took them to Peleliu and put into hospital bunks

• Vital statistics were recorded and dressings were changed

• Some men got IV's and the narrator began to eat and got some strength back

• After 2-3 days at Peleliu, the narrator was transported to Guam on a hospital ship

• Bart [Bartholomew, Surgeon General of the Navy, 1955-1959] Hogan ordered the narrator to start at the beginning and dictate everything they remembered for the Inspector General

• The narrator dictated for 3 days on the way to Guam.

• The Inspector General's office contained the unedited report for books about the Indianapolis

• The narrator doesn't have the nightmares normally.

• Staying away from talking about individuals and friends is how the narrator prevents having nightmares

The USS Indianapolis picks up cargo in San Francisco, including nuclear components and a device to trigger the bomb. The captain informs the staff about their special mission, emphasizing the importance of the cargo in the admiral's cabin.