pagesofhistory Recalling Disaster

Not long after USS Indianapolis (CA-35) delivered key parts for the world’s first operational atomic bomb, the heavy cruiser was hit by torpedoes and less than one-third of its crew survived.

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uly 30 marks the 70th anniversary of the sinking of USS Indianapolis (CA-35), a devastating wartime in- cident that haunted the Navy for decades. The heavy cruiser remains historically significant because four days before it was destroyed, it delivered key components for the world’s first operational atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. From Tinian, Indianapolis was directed to the Leyte Gulf, where it was to meet up with USS Idaho (BB-42). But shortly after midnight July 30, 1945, the ship was hit by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. Of the 1,196 crewmen on board, 900 were able to abandon ship. The survivors experienced horrific suf-

fering. Hundreds were lost to the elements, thirst, and marauding sharks before help finally arrived several days after the ship went down. Of the 900 crewmen who went into the water, only 317 survived. Despite protests from Fleet Admiral

Chester Nimitz and Vice Adm. Raymond Spruance, Indianapolis’ captain, Charles McVay, was tried on charges of failing to issue timely orders to abandon ship and putting his ship in jeopardy by fail- ing to zigzag. He was convicted of the latter charge, which effectively ruined his military career. In 1946, at the behest of Nimitz, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal commuted McVay’s sentence and restored him to duty. McVay served in the New Orleans Naval District, retir- ing in 1949 as a rear admiral.

PHOTO: NATIONAL ARCHIVES In 2000, Congress passed a resolution

exonerating McVay for the loss of India- napolis. In addition, Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England ordered McVay’s record cleared.

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New Stamp Honors Civil War’s End he descendants of two soldiers pres- ent at Confederate

General Robert E. Lee’s sur- render to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House were present for the dedication of a new stamp commemorating the moment, which signaled the end of the Civil War. Dennis Bigelow, a descen- dant of Lee’s aide at Appomattox, Lt. Col. Charles Marshall, and Al Parker, a descen- dant of Grant’s military secretary, Lt. Col. Ely S. Parker, attended the dedication cere- mony April 9 in front of the McLean house, where Lee’s surrender took place. The stamp depicting Lee’s surrender accompanies a second stamp depicting the Battle of Five Forks. They are the last in a U.S. Postal Service series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Since 2011, sheets with two stamp designs have been issued for each year of the war.

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— Don Vaughan, a North Carolina-based free- lance writer, authors this monthly column.

JULY 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 73

History Lesson On July 12, 1994, Germa- ny’s highest court allowed its forces to take part in military operations outside the country for the first time since the end of World War II.

Alterations (outlined) were made to USS In- dianapolis in July 1945, just weeks before Japanese torpedoes hit the heavy cruiser.