USS Indianapolis CA-35
Joseph Mason Strain - Lost At Sea

Name: Joseph Mason Strain
Rank / Rating: S2-Seaman Second Class
Service #: 859 98 38
DOB: Dec 26, 1915
From: Creston, IA
Parents:
Went Aboard: Apr 27, 1944
Age When Ship Went Down: 29 years, 7 months, 4 days
Spouse: Virginia Strain
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Carl Fahnestock (Admin)
Bio Last Updated: Oct 07, 2026

Joseph Mason Strain, S2c-Seaman Second Class was one of 879 crew members of USS Indianapolis (CA-35) who “Lost Their Lives At Sea” as a direct casualty of the July 30, 1945 sinking of USS Indianapolis. All of these 879 men plus 9 others who also lost their lives at sea as a direct outcome of a March 31, 1945 kamikaze attack in Okinawa, have been recorded as having been “Lost at Sea” (LAS) while aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) in 1945. Seventy-six years after the ship’s sinking (in 2021), a thorough investigation of available historic records culminated in the identification of thirteen (13) sailors on that fateful last voyage whose names were subsequently placed on an “Accounted For” list. Joseph Mason Strain, Seaman Second Class was one of the 879 crew members of USS Indianapolis CA35 who were "lost at sea" in the sinking of the ship on July 30, 1945. After 316 survivors were rescued, the effort turned into a recovery mission of the deceased crew members in the water. Six ships recovered 91 bodies that were examined and many were identified. All bodies were given a "Burial at Sea". Due to an administrative error, at least 13 of the men who were identified and buried at sea never had this information recorded in his official personnel file, therefore he continued to be officially noted as "Unaccounted For" by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). In 2021, Chief Rick Stone, through his Stone Family Foundation, conducted extensive research of these 13 crew members. His tremendous efforts lead to evidence that confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt, required by statute, that the crew member's name should be moved from the "Unaccounted For" to the "Accounted For" list with a notation that he was Buried at Sea to give the families some degree of closure for their loved one. The Commander of the Navy Personnel Command directed the Navy Casualty Office to personally inform the families of the 13 crew members of this discovery and the change made in the official records. While each of these 13 sailors “Lost Their Lives At Sea”, they were each “Buried at Sea”. The 13 men who by clear and convincing evidence gathered at the time of the Rescue and Recovery process resulted in their being “Buried at Sea” are: George Stanley Abbott, S1- Seaman First Class Eugene Clifford Batson, S2- Seaman Second Class William Alexander Haynes, S1- Seaman First Class Albert Raymond Kelly, S2- Seaman Second Class Albert Davis Lundgren, S1- Seaman First Class Ollie McHone, F1- Fireman First Class George David Payne, S2- Seaman Second Class Alvin Wilder Rahn, SK3- Storekeeper Third Class Jose Antonio Saenz, SC3- Ship’s Cook Third Class Joseph Mason Strain, S2- Seaman Second Class Angelo Anthony Sudano, SSML3- Ship’s Service Man (Laundryman) Third Class Floyd Ralph Wolfe, GM3- Gunner’s Mate Third Class Charles Byrd Sparks, COX- Coxswain Burial at Sea Joseph was one of the twenty-eight crew members picked up and identified by USS Helm between Sunday August 5, 1945 to Monday August 6, 1945. It not being possible to bring Joseph aboard for the official Burial at Sea Ceremony he was reverently placed in a sea bag, weighted with two 5" shells and "committed to the deep" by his fellow seamen.