Project 888
UNANSWERABLE QUESTIONS
byCarl Fahnestock
Unfortunately, on behalf of the majority of these men (800+), it is expected that answers will never be provided to LAS Families and Friends regarding the following types of questions:
In this article we will try to bring closure to LAS families to confirm what we do or do not know about the
circumstances and details relating to the deaths of the crewmembers.
In the early days, weeks and months after the ship sank, many questions were raised by both the United States
Department of the Navy and LAS crewmember families as they searched for answers related to this tragic event.
Interviews with the 316 survivors provided the primary source of information related to both the physical and
emotional trauma that beset the ship and its entire crew.
Post rescue of survivors (05-12 Aug 1945), the United States Navy searched for answers and gathered information
from survivors. Documentation from crew interviews provided the details regarding the status of the damage,
destruction and eventual sinking of the ship as well as the survivor experiences during the over four day
ordeal of being stranded in the sea. This first hand information is maintained in historical documents in
the U.S. Naval Archives. These primary source documents were used in written responses to questions asked
by LAS families in this section.
Following the Navy's interviews with survivors and verification of details, 879 telegrams were prepared and
sent to LAS families on Sunday, 12 August 1945. These initial telegrams advised the families that their
loved ones were "not among the survivors" and/or were "missing in action". While the
nation rejoiced over the Japanese surrender, families stared in disbelief at the first telegram.
In mid-September, a second telegram was sent to the same 879 Navy and Marine families advising "No Chance
of Recovery" of their loved one. The anxious wait ended with the worst news: their loved one was truly
Lost at Sea.
Later, condolence letters were sent from Captain Charles B. McVay III, to officially advise the families of
their loved one's death. This third and final official communication changed the family status to a Gold
Star Family, a color no one wanted.
Military families displayed service flags that showed a blue star for every immediate family member serving
in the Armed Forces. The star's color would be changed to gold if the family lost a loved one in the war.
(Source: www.uso.org)
Through utter disbelief and grief, receipt of the telegrams prompted LAS family members to begin searching
for details as to HOW, WHEN, WHY and WHERE their loved one was Lost at Sea and to search for confirmation
that their loved one had actually died.
Beginning in August 1945 and into early 1946, McVay received letters from heartbroken family members
who were desperately searching for hope. McVay promptly, respectfully and consistently responded
to each letter with details that addressed each family's questions and concerns. Copies of the content
of ALL family letters and McVay's response to each letter are available for your review in the Historical
Details section topic titled:
"McVay's Letters". In total, Project 888
archives contain 91 letters from families and McVay's responses to the questions which were
presented to him.
The letters provide insight into the emotional toll that families were experiencing! McVay's response
to each of the letters provides awareness of the challenges that he faced in trying to answer the many
repetitive, and "Unanswerable Questions" raised by the LAS families.
What follows in this writeup is a detailed analysis and sampling of commonly asked questions that were
raised by LAS families. In addition, there were a few other questions that could reasonably be expected
to be raised by future generations.
"UNANSWERABLE QUESTIONS"
Q1. A TELEGRAM ADVISED ME THAT MY SON IS "MISSING IN ACTION BUT ... WAS HE AMONG THE SURVIVORS OR DID HE
MEET DEATH"? (1)
Many LAS families raised questions of this nature and McVay replied to questions of this type with
consistent replies like the following statement that was included in his response to Mrs. John A. Clark,
mother of George S. Barton, Y3c:
"It is with regret that I have to inform you that your son, George S. Barton, Y3c, is not among the
survivors and is missing in action. I cannot hold out much hope for his survival as I believe he went
down with the ship". (2)
"It is difficult I know for you to understand why we cannot furnish more information. However, when it
is realized the ship sank in the middle of the night in a very short time and that no records whatsoever
were saved that may explain our difficulty in piecing together a coherent story."
(3)
From collective discussions and interviews with survivors, who had counted the numbers of men who had formed
within and among their personal floating groups, it has been estimated that approximately 900 men were
stranded in the water in the early hours after the sinking. Even considering some margin of error, it can
then be estimated that about twenty-five percent (25%) of the total crew (about 300 men) most likely went
down with the ship.
What we do know for a fact is that 74% of the total crew (879 out of 1,195 total men onboard) ultimately
died as a result of having being aboard Indianapolis when it was sunk on 30 July 1945.
Q2. WHERE WAS MY SON AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION, THE MANNER IN WHICH HE PASSED AND IF HE WENT DOWN
WITH THE SHIP? (4)
McVay advised Mrs. Lenora Evans, mother of Arthur Jerome Evans PHM2/c that "his whereabouts at the time of
the explosion are not known". I however, believe he would have been sleeping near sick bay, which was in
the path of the explosion and of course could not have survived".
(5)
What we do know is that given the tropical heat at the location of the ship in the Philippine Sea, McVay gave permission for any crewmember to feel free to sleep "topside" rather than sleep below deck where there was no air conditioning.
As such, any crewmember who chose to sleep topside could have placed their blanket at any location (between
the bow and stern).
We do know from survivor feedback that there were many crewmembers who chose to bed down topside.
Information about the exact location where a given LAS crewmember may have been sleeping (or whether he was
even sleeping at the time of the first torpedo striking the Indy's bow) is unknown unless he happened to be
sleeping near a crewmember that knew him and who ultimately lived to survive the ordeal and could provide more
details.
Q3. DO YOU THINK THERE IS ANY CHANCE THAT MY SON MIGHT HAVE BEEN PICKED UP BY AN ENEMY VESSEL?
(6)
McVay replied to Mr. and Mrs. Lon Fulton, parents of William C. Fulton, Radioman, that "None of the survivors
stated that they saw any type of ship either shortly before INDIANAPOLIS went down or afterwards. I firmly
believe that your son went down with his ship. I do not believe that the Japs took any of our men as
prisoners." (7)
McVay's summation of his thoughts regarding the activities after the sinking by the Japanese Navy, would
ultimately be validated at a future date. Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto would later validate that his I-58
submarine left the area after confirming that the enemy ship was not on the surface and after he had
reached the conclusion that he had sunk the enemy ship.
In Hashimoto's book (SUNK, 1954), he recorded "It was over an hour since the first action and I was certain
now that she had definitely sunk, but it was difficult to spot any flotsam in the darkness. With feelings
of regret, I made off to the northeast for fear of reprisals from ships or aircraft which might have been in
company with our late enemy, and after running on the surface for an hour we dived to prepare for the next
encounter." (8)
Q4. DO YOU THINK IT POSSIBLE, AT ALL, THAT ANY OF THE BOYS OR MEN COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO ANY OF THE MANY
ATOLLS (Islands)? (9)
McVay replied to Elizabeth Arnold Heggie, mother of William Arnold Heggie, RDM3, that "The nearest island was
over three hundred miles from where the ship was sunk. I do not believe it possible for anyone to have
reached land as the distance was too great." (10)
For comparison purposes and to support McVay's response, when considering a three-hundred mile swim to the
nearest island, please note that an individual who swims the "English Channel" will travel only 18.2
nautical miles (approximately 21 land miles) to complete that challenge.
Note also that the Recovery portion of the "Rescue and Recovery" process lasted about one week after the
last survivor was picked up. The search area for the Recovery extended many miles beyond (outside) the
oceanographic area where the 316 survivors were located. No additional survivors were found, just a few corpses.
In addition to Elizabeth Arnold Heggie's question about the possibility of men drifting/swimming to atolls,
she raised other questions in her letters to McVay. To gain insight into the trauma that beset LAS families,
you are encouraged to read Mrs. Heggie's letters along with McVay's replies, which are included in McVay's
Letters.
Q5: DO YOU KNOW WHETHER MY SON WAS ON WATCH WHEN THIS TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED?
(11)
McVay replied to Mrs. V.O. Hartrick, mother of Willis Boomer Hartrick MM1/c, "All the records, watch lists,
etc., were lost with the ship, so we are unable to determine just where everyone was at the time of the
sinking." (12)
Indianapolis followed standard "large ship" U.S. Navy protocol for the assignment of Duty Watch
schedules. The 1944 edition of the U.S. Navy Bluejacket's Manual (BJM) provides detailed information
about Duty Watches:
Page 273 of the BJM defines that for a "large ship" each division is made up of four sections numbered "1 to 4".
Page 275 of the BJM defines three conditions of readiness for battle while aboard ship. The one in operation
depends on the anticipated danger. Each is defined as follows:
Condition Three. - The probabilities of an attack are rather remote and the crew is standing four hours on
and twelve hours off.
Condition Two. - A surprise attack may take place at any time by aircraft, surface ships or submarines.
Condition One. - An attack is imminent.
Given the "unescorted" status of Indianapolis on the evening of its fateful voyage, the ship would have
presumably been sailing under Condition Three. This is further evidenced by Capt. McVay's communication
to the crew that anyone was welcome to sleep topside to avoid the heat in the sleeping compartments below.
As documented on page 273 of the BJM, individual crewmembers for a given division were assigned to serve
Duty Watch obligations in one of the four numbered sections (# 1, 2, 3 or 4). Each Duty Watch duration
would have been four hours long. Twenty-five percent (25%) of a given division's crew (i.e. 1 in 4) would
have been serving the "Evening" Duty Watch from 8:00 pm to 12:00 am (2000 - 2400 hrs.) in the waning hours
of 29 July 1945. By regulation, the Duty Watch responsibilities were scheduled to be transferred over to
another Section crewmember (from another 25% grouping of that given division's crew). The replacement
crewmember would have been scheduled to serve the "Mid" Watch from 12:00 am to 4:00 am (0000 hours to 0400
hrs.) in the early hours of 30 July 1945.
Collectively, with the two respective Duty Watch Sections transferring responsibilities on or about midnight,
fifty percent (50%) of the ship's crew would likely have been awake when the first torpedo from Japanese
Submarine I-58 detonated underwater into the starboard bow of Indianapolis just minutes after midnight.
Bottom Line is that it is likely that 50% of the ship's crew would not have been sleeping in their assigned
division's sleeping compartment.
As shared in McVay's response to LAS Family inquiries, documentation as to the names of those crewmembers who
were serving those watch periods (and where on the ship they had been serving) went down with the ship.
Without that documentation, the NAVY had no record where any of the crew (those crewmembers who were serving
Duty Watch and/or those who were not) might have been when the first torpedo hit the ship just a minute or
two after midnight.
Q6. WHERE WOULD A GIVEN CREWMEMBER HAVE BEEN WHEN THE TORPEDOES HIT THE SHIP AND SUBSEQUENT EXPLOSIONS OF
AMMUNITION AND FUEL TANK STORAGE AREAS ERUPTED?
The pure factual answer is: "He could have been anywhere onboard ship"!
Living onboard a U.S. Navy Ship provides the opportunity for a crewmember to be anywhere onboard at any
time of the day or night. For example, a sailor could be in the head, shower, sleeping compartment,
mess hall, chapel, division workshop, ship's store, at his duty watch station, or at one of many places
in between on any deck (level) and anywhere from Bow to Stern.
As an example, interviews of survivors confirmed that men were taking showers at the very moment the
first torpedo struck the ship. They had undressed near their berth in their division's sleeping
compartment and had walked to the Head/Shower location. Due to smoke and fire, they were unable to
return to their sleeping compartment to dress; so they were forced to abandon ship while nude or partially
clothed in just their underwear. This exposed them to a greater risk of suffering from hypothermia (i.e.
risk of having their body temperature drop dangerously low during nighttime hours floating in the ocean waters).
Q7. COULD YOU TELL ME WHERE I COULD GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN MY BROTHER WAS FIRST MISSED & UNDER
WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES? (13)
LT John Reid's response to Katherine F. Glaub, sister of Francis A. Glaub BM2c, stated, "your brother
is not among the survivors and is missing in action. I cannot hold out much hope for his survival as it is
believed that all survivors are known at this time".
(14)
It would have been a near impossible task for McVay to provide specific knowledge about exactly how and
when the circumstances occurred such that a given crewmember would have gone "missing".
Few survivors would have been randomly in position to witness that kind of specific detail about another
crewmember's fate during the traumatic experience of seeking their own safety. Multiple explosions were
rapidly occurring on the sinking ship. Everyone was trying to survive.
Q8. DID A SURVIVOR RECALL SEEING MY UNCLE IN THE WATER AFTER THE SHIP SANK?
Upon abandoning ship, most crewmembers would typically have been covered with fuel oil after entering the
water. The torpedo explosions ruptured fuel oil storage tanks. Crewmembers from the same division had a
hard time identifying a friend or fellow co-worker who was covered in fuel oil and who was also barely
visible in the low visibility of the nighttime hours. Ship's officers were unrecognizable.
It should also be noted that there were a number of men who were wounded (broken bones, burns, etc.) and
who ultimately passed away from their injuries in the nighttime hours immediately after the ship's sinking.
Additionally, with the ship moving under its own propulsion after the torpedoes hit, the crew who abandoned
ship formed randomly in groups and were eventually spread many miles from each other.
It would just be by random chance that a given crewmember would be near someone who could identify him in
the water after the ship sank when the dawn's early light appeared hours later.
Finally, and to further compound a given crewmember's limited exposure to other sailors, note that when
Indianapolis left Mare Island for what would ultimately be its final two weeks of service, about
33% of the crew had been reassigned to other ships and 225 newly trained replacements had boarded the ship.
Bottom Line, the majorities of these new crewmembers had no prior sailing experience, just coming from boot
camp, and were new and unknown to their fellow division co-workers.
Q9. WHAT WAS MY LOVED ONE'S CAUSE OF DEATH?
While this question did not appear in any of the 91 letters sent to McVay back in 1945, it is reasonable
to expect that a future generation might seek an answer.
Mr. and Mrs. Basil H. Shields, Jr., parents of Cecil Norris Shields, SM2, understood clearly the difficulty
in being able to assign a "Cause of Death" for their son when they stated in their 03 Oct 1945 letter to
McVay: "we realize very little anyone can know about just how he met his death".
It is an impossible task to provide a comprehensive and inclusive "Cause of Death" listing of the names of
the men who perished. It has been estimated that approximately 300 men "may" have gone down with the ship;
but we will never be able to produce a listing of their names or validate an exact number.
Factually, we know only 316 survived, 879 men did not survive to be rescued.
By these numbers, approximately 579 men lost their lives during the four-plus days in the water after sinking:
(1,195 total men aboard) Less (300 estimated down with the ship) Less (316 survivors) = (579 lost in water)
By accounts shared by survivors, there were multiple causes of death for these 579 men:
A review of survivor's interviews has identified the "most probable cause of death" for only a few of the 579
men who died in the water after the ship's sinking.
Here is the "most probable cause of death" for two of these men:
Harold Robert Anthony PhM3c - Exhaustion from administering first aid to save many shipmates.
(15)
Chaplain Thomas Conway - Exhaustion on 02 Aug 1945 from praying and caring for men in water.
(16)
There were survivors who had witnessed the death of fellow crewmembers. At Survivors' Reunions LAS families
would present a photo asking, "Did you know my son?" The survivors would commonly respond with a headshake
meaning "No, I did not know your son" rather than describe what they knew.
Q10. MY SISTER ASKED ME TO WRITE TO YOU REGARDING HER SON, CHARLES I. JENNEY, TO ASK IF YOU MIGHT GIVE HER
SOME INFORMATION WHICH WOULD BE OF COMFORT TO HER?
(17)
McVay sent a letter to Mrs. C. I. Jenney, in which he stated: "It is regrettable indeed that due to the
rapidity with which Indianapolis sank, coupled with the fact that it occurred in the middle of
the night, made it impossible to take any records off the ship. The only information we have comes
from piecing together meagre bits from survivors. I can understand fully the desires families have
for more facts, but I am sure you know how difficult it is to piece together a coherent story of the
disaster. I knew your son quite well and considered him one of the highest type officers under my command.
I can only tell you how grieved I was to learn Charles was not among the survivors. His loss will be felt
not only by his fellow officers but by the Navy as a whole."
(18)
The last three sentences of McVay's quoted response above were most likely included in his reply to Mrs.
Jenney as a way of his providing "Comfort to her"!
Q11. DO YOU HAVE ANY MEN THAT WERE FOUND "OUT OF THEIR MIND" AND YOU DON'T KNOW THEIR NAME?
(19)
In a letter sent to Mrs. Jewell R. Malone, wife of Elvin C Malone, S1c, McVay stated: "It is true that
some of the survivors were out of their head when picked up, this was due primarily to exhaustion and
within a matter of hours they all fully regained their senses. We know all the names of the men who
survived and I am certain your husband is not among them."
(20)
Q12. WHY ARE THERE NO PHOTOS OF MY LOVED ONE ONBOARD SHIP?
On the final cruise from Mare Island to Tinian Island, Indy carried and delivered a top-secret cargo
(components of the Hiroshima bomb). It has been reported by his family that Photographer's Mate Alfred
Sedivi, 1C was directed to "take photos of the mission" and "not of the crew boarding at Mare Island".
Additionally, the speed of travel rocked the ship so that photos taken would possibly have been blurred.
Photos that might have been taken of the crew after the Tinian Island delivery of the secret cargo would
have gone down with the ship.
Q13. WHY AT A SURVIVOR REUNION COULD I NOT FIND SOMEONE WHO KNEW MY SON?
LAS attendees at reunions that were held many years after 1945 raised questions like this.
The first Indianapolis Survivor Reunion was held in 1960 (15 years after the 30 July 1945 sinking).
Subsequent reunions were typically attended by survivors and their families. Ultimately, LAS family members
began attending reunions. Over the years the number of survivor attendees was dramatically reduced
from the large number that had attended earlier reunions. The lower count of survivor attendees
drastically reduced the chances that an LAS family could find a survivor who "knew their son".
1,195 men were onboard for the Indy's Final Sailing. As shared previously, about 225 members of the Final
Sailing Crew had only recently boarded the ship and were experiencing their first at-sea duty. They knew
a limited number of crew before leaving Mare Island for the ship's final cruise.
Per the 1944 Bluejacket's Manual (pages xviii and 260), there were 38 enlisted ratings (job functions) that
were spread out/stationed across six major departments onboard ship (Gunnery, Construction and Repair,
Navigation, Engineering, Supply and Medical) and each department organizationally had an average of 3
divisions staffed by common job function crewmembers.
Even seasoned crewmembers, who had served several years onboard a ship, typically had a limited number of
acquaintances aboard.
The typical acquaintance was someone who ate, slept and worked with men from their own divisions.
Compare a ship with 1,000 crewmembers to a civilian factory with 1,000 employees. A factory employee would
be most likely to know co-workers who worked only in his immediate section of the factory.
Q14. COULD YOU PLEASE SEND TO ME A PICTURE OF THE SHIP MY HUBAND WAS ON AND ALSO HIS RECORDS?
(21)
In a 03 Dec 1945 letter sent to the spouse of Chris Alstrum Jensen S2c, McVay replied "All the service
records went down with the ship, but I have prepared the complete enlisted naval service of your husband,
taken from records here in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. I do hope this is what you had in mind. In
compliance with your request there is enclosed a picture of Indianapolis".
(22)
Multiple requests for Service Records and a photo of Indianapolis were requested by LAS family members.
Each of McVay's response letters to LAS families contained text similar to his letter to Mrs. Jensen.
Q15. YOU SAID THAT FIFTEEN OFFICERS WERE SAVED. ARE YOU ALLOWED TO TELL ANY OF THEIR NAMES? WAS LT MORRIS
OF DIVISION 3 ONE OF THEM? DO YOU KNOW OF ANY MEN OF DIVISION 3 THAT WERE SAVED?
(23)
McVay replied to Mrs. Virginia M. Kern, wife of Harry Gilbert Kern S1, "All of the ship's records were lost
and therefore the names of the men of the third division are not available. Lieutenant (jg) K. H. Morse,
the 3rd Division officer, is not one of the survivors. I have requested that the Office of Public Information
send you a list of all the survivors."
(24)
McVay received multiple requests for a listing of both Survivors and LAS crewmembers. In his written response
to each request, McVay replied consistently and followed up with details as requested.
Q16. WHAT WAS MY BROTHER'S DATE OF DEATH AND CAUSE OF DEATH?
(25)
William J. Conway, brother of Chaplain Thomas M. Conway, Lt., shared with McVay, in a letter dated 18
Oct 1945, that he had received a letter which was forwarded by the Military Ordinariate and gave his
brother's death as Aug. 2, from drowning. He questioned this information in comparison to the first
letter he had received from McVay which was not consistent with either the report given by the news,
nor the letter forwarded by the Military Ordinariate.
On 02 Nov 1945, McVay replied to Mr. Conway's 18 Oct letter and stated "From what several of the
survivors who were in the same group with your brother have said, it was concluded that he died from
exhaustion, in his sleep, on the second day of August and the group said prayers as his body was committed
to the seas."
(26)
Note that the Chaplain's "Cause of Death" was not medically validated as "Exhaustion"; but rather is
McVay's "Best Guess" based on statements made by survivors. The Chaplain's exact cause of death
remains an unanswerable question!
Q17. COULD THERE BE A MISTAKE AS TO THE IDENTITY OF MY SON SINCE THERE WERE TWO SAILORS ONBOARD THE
SHIP WITH IDENTICAL FIRST AND LAST NAMES AND MATCHING MIDDLE NAME INITIALS? (27)
Mrs. Leone King was under the impression that there were two Richard Kings on the Indianapolis; her
son named Richard Eugene King and whom she thought was another sailor named Richard Edward King.
She also advised McVay that she thought another "Richard King" was buried at Palau.
It was Mrs. King's statement that there were two Richard Kings on Indianapolis that posed an
Unanswerable Question as to there having been a mistake in identity. McVay replied to Mrs. King in a
12 Oct 1945 letter, which stated "I have thoroughly checked the records and have found that there was
no person by the name of Richard Edward King aboard Indianapolis when she sank July 30, 1945.
Your son, Richard Eugene was the only King aboard whose first name was Richard. Your son was not among
the survivors taken to the Philippines or Palau."
(28)
Note that the Final Sailing List actually included two sailors named "R. King", her son named Richard
Eugene King and another sailor named Robert H. King.
Q18. JUST WHERE WAS MY SON LOCATED IN THE RADAR ROOM, OR PART, ON WHAT DECK?
(29)
McVay replied to Elizabeth Arnold Heggie, mother of William Arnold Heggie, RDM3 that "therefore it is
impossible to correctly tell you just where your son was at the time of the explosions... To my knowledge,
he was not seen in the water by any of the survivors."
(30)
Q19. COULD YOU HAVE SOMEONE DROP ME A NOTE REGARDING THE STATUS OF A FORMER SHIPMATE OF MINE (LT JACK I.
ORR, JR) AND A STAFF MEMBER OF MINE (LT CHARLES I. JENNEY)?
(31)
McVay's reply to Ralph N. Pickles stated: "Your letter of 28 Aug 1945 concerning Lieutenant Jenney
and Lieutenant Orr has just been brought to my attention. Lieutenant Orr had the mid-watch as officer
of the deck. I talked with him shortly after the explosions occurred and so far as I know he went down
with the ship. Lieutenant Jenney was probably killed instantly as his room was in the path of one of the
explosions. Both of these men were fine officers and their loss will be keenly felt".
(32)
Note that McVay was unable to definitively answer Pickles request regarding the status of Orr and Jenney.
Their respective status per McVay's 28 Aug 1945 letter represent McVay's "Best Guess" that both men had gone
down with the ship.
Q20. DID MY SON, KENNETH, HAVE A LOCKER AND ANY BELONGINGS BESIDES WHAT HE HAD ON THE SHIP? (HE SPOKE OF A
LOCKER BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF HE HAD ANY BESIDES THE ONE ON THE SHIP.)
(33)
McVay's reply to Mrs. Floyd Smith, mother of Kenneth Dean Smith S2/c stated: "There is no way of my knowing
if Kenneth had a locker other than the one on the ship."
(34)
It is a very common practice for sailors to rent lockers off the ship where they can store personal/non-military
clothing and effects. When the sailors leave the ship for liberty (i.e. when they "Go Ashore" while the ship
is docked at its assigned home port), they often will change into "civilian clothes". In addition to civilian
clothes, they may store sporting goods (ex. baseball glove, tennis racquets, fishing rod, etc.) and other
personal effects in their off-ship personal locker.
Q21. WHY WERE THE SEARCH PLANES NOT SENT OUT SOONER?
(35)
Wayne C. Stauffer, Chaplain (Capt) and father of LAS Lt. Edward Henry Stauffer, USMC, wrote in a letter
addressed to McVay: "One survivor who knew our son has stated that Lt. Stauffer was alive in the water
three days and then they 'Lost track of him'. It seems to us that it would help a little if we could be
informed as to why the search planes were not sent out sooner. We know the question in Lt Stauffer's mind,
as with all of you, was "Why don't they come."
McVay responded in a letter to Chaplain Stauffer and stated: "There are many questions which I fear we
will never have sufficient information to answer with any degree of satisfaction. I have tried to piece
together the known shreds and I have come to the conclusion that the heavy explosions caused such damage
that we were unable to get a distress message off the ship prior to her sinking. Thus the outside world
knew nothing of the tragedy until a naval aircraft on routine reconnaissance and search sighted some of the
survivors. During wartime naval ships maintained radio silence until such time as the situation required
them to use their radio so there were no routing reports made and consequently no suspicion would arise
merely from lack of information."
(36)
From the perspective of Chaplain Stauffer, it was obviously very sad and unfortunate for him to learn
that his son survived for three days after the ship's sinking but presumably would have been rescued
had the Navy been searching for survivors during those three days immediately after the sinking. The
father was also left with another Unanswered Question: What was my son's actual cause of death?
All of the above questions remain "Unanswerable" today as the grandchildren of those lost at sea recognize
the contributions that the men on the final sailing crew of Indianapolis made in bringing an
end to WWII. The search for information about the LAS is never ending as information continues to surface
many years after the sinking. Here is a sampling of information that has surfaced decades after the sinking:
A chest was found in an attic in LaGrange, TN containing keepsakes from the life of LAS Howard "Howie"
Straughn; Ian Groce, age 18, called saying he wanted to know more about his grandfather Floyd Groce who
served on Indy; a letter written by LAS at sea LCD Earl Henry was found inside a book in a thrift store;
many search the internet and locate USS Indianapolis.com-all
of these bring more questions about the crew of Indianapolis.
SOURCE CREDITS:
