[July 30, 2021] One of the great ironies of our time, in a world of justice and righting wrongs, is the rejection of our history to learn valuable lessons. Great institutions of learning now politicalize every speck of every act deemed morally irredeemable. Such is the loss of lessons of the USS Indianapolis from WW2.
Today, July 30, is the anniversary of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) sinking, a heavy cruiser of the U.S. Navy. The ship and her crew played a significant role in defeating the Japanese Imperial Navy and land forces. Yet, oddly enough, after the sinking, the Captain was to be the only Navy Captain during the war to be court-martialed for aspects related to the sinking.
Circumstances that lead to the sinking were top-secret and only exposed years after the war. The Indianapolis was on a secret mission to deliver uranium and atomic bomb parts to the U.S. Army Air Force on the island of Tinian. After dropping off this cargo (which it did successfully), the ship was to rendezvous with the battleship Idaho to take part in the invasion of Japan.
Unfortunately for the crew, the Indianapolis was hit with two torpedoes and sank in 12 minutes, trapping about 300 sailors in the ship. Another 900 make it off the ship, not knowing they were in shark-infested waters. Sharks, sun, and dehydration took their toll on the sailors. Only 316 survived. Because they were on a secret mission and serious errors by the Navy, no one missed them. Four days after the sinking, a routine patrol plane spotted them.
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis is the largest U.S. naval loss in American history. Senior naval commanders in the area, responsible for tracking ships on plotting boards, failed to track the Indianapolis. Although she failed to arrive at her planned destination, the ship was recorded as “arrived.”
At Leyte, her destination, it was known immediately that the ship had not arrived, but the reason was not investigated. Other major Navy failures led to a failure to follow up on the whereabouts of the Indianapolis and crew. This ship’s Captain, Charles B. McVay III, was court-martialed on two charges. After additional investigations, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz remitted McVay’s sentence and restored him to active duty. McVay retired in 1949 as a rear admiral.
But that is not the end of the story and the tragic ending of the sinking and lessons of history. McVay, laded with guilt, committed suicide in 1968. In 1996, a sixth-grade student, Hunter Scott, began research on the sinking of the Indianapolis for a class project. Scott’s effort led to national publicity and the attention of retired and current members of Congress. Ultimately, this led to the clearing McVay of all wrongdoing.
Knowing and understanding the history of what is most pertinent to our lives is one of the keys to separating the good from the best leaders and those who are victorious from those who fail. Ultimately, knowing history means that we recognize and apply the past lessons where change remains a common theme. Knowing the relevant history means having an appreciation of this change.1
There is an excellent website dedicated to the USS Indianapolis and its crew. I recommend it.
https://www.ussindianapolis.com/
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USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35)
COMMEMORATING SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS, (1945-2020)
by USS Indianapolis (CA-35) Legacy Organization
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/USS-INDIANAPOLIS-CA-35
Project 888: The Legacy Organization is launching a new research endeavor, called Project 888. The project is focused on collecting family stories or other biographical information for 888 Indy crewmembers who died in 1945 while serving aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35). Project 888 represents the 879 who lost their lives when the ship was torpedoed and sunk on July 30, 1945, and 9 additional crew members who were killed in the kamikaze attack in the Battle of Okinawa, on March 31, 1945.
Hey, thanks Fred for making us aware of this org. Great job. Don’t you just love this leadership site by Gen. Satterfield? I do. Get your daily dose of leadership here.
Excellent article and thanks for highlighting the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Gen. Satterfield, continue this “Learning from History” mini-series you started. I find it entertaining and educational. Keep up the great you are doing with your website as well. We know you don’t do it for profit and thanks for not having any advertisement.
Right, I hate advertisements when I’m trying to negotiate a website like this one. Gen. Satterfield’s site is my morning go-to spot.
Great story. But today’s liberal-minded minions will drop this history because there were white privileged men on the ship.
Smack! Liberals will never learn history, the only distort it for propaganda purposes. Thanks for the note, Guns, we’re reading them.
Good one. Thanks Guns are Us. I do believe you are right. On the other hand, they wouldn’t know about this anyway. You know the score, this is ancient history and we are soooo superior to all those knuckle draggers in the past.
Ouch, tell us what you think of those “snowflakes.”