Evening star., 1945-08-15
833 LOST, 315 Saved
As Jap Sub Sinks
Cruiser indianapolis
Continued From First Page.)

ing two officers, and nine enlisted
Marine Corps wounded)
For the 500 crewmen and the
handful of officers hurled alive into
the midnight sea, it was the begin
ming of a living nightmare. It
ended, for some, more than 115
hours later-after some of the crazed
seamen had killed each other, and
others had dived suicidally, head
ing for some magic island" they
saw in their feverish dreams.
No one beyond the oil-streaked
circle Of men and debris in the
sea knew what had happened to
the unescorted cruiser-until a
search plane from Peleliu led the
way to the rescue of the 315 sur
vivors five days later.
Survivors said nearly 700 men
had gone down with the ship. Hun
dreds more plunged into the sea
without life preservers or RATS, so
that death quickly began to pick
them off.
Ten officers and 305 enlisted men
lived through the torture. They
were taken to Leyte or Peleliu.
Capt. Charles Butler McVay III
OF 2126 Connecticut avenue, WASH
ington, told much of the story of the
tragedy, in calm, undramatic
voice. A raft saved him and 1t.
Comdr. Lewis L. Haynes, senior
doctor, Fairfield. Conn, who de-
scribed the plight of the swimmers.
The 47year-old captain-slender
balding, with a softly commanding
voice, is the son of Admiral Charles
B. McVay. jr., U. S. N, retired, for
mer commander in chief of the
Aslatlc Fleet. His grandfather
President of the Pittsburgh Trust
Co., in his day was the only civilian,
Capt. McVay said, ever to become
an honorary member of Naval
Academy class, in 1890. The captain
himself was graduated with the
class Of 1920.
A fourth McVays the shippers son,
was medically discharged from the
Navy recently.
Unable to Radio Position.
Clad in his pajama top, Capt.
McVay ran to the chart house and
told the navigator, Comdr. John
Hopkins Janney of Baltimore, now
listed as missing: For Gods sake
make certain contact reports get out.
Say we have been torpedoed. Our
position such and such. We are
sinking rapidly and need immediate
assistance"
The captain ordered all engines
stopped. Radiomen tried in frantic
desperation to click out their ap-
peal for help. 1t was no use. There
was no electric power.
Another officer tried vainly three
times to instruct the engine-room
to reverse the ship-she was going
down by the head.
Capt. McVay pulled on some cloth
Ing and returned hastily to the
bridge. 1t. Comdr. K. C. Moore,
damage control officer, said, II don't
think we are going to last long;
I think we ought to abandon Ship
But Capt. McVay said he responded,
No. take another look"
Then the ships executive officer,
Comdr. Joseph Flynn, Vallejo, Calf,
reported the cruiser was filling fast,
and the skipper told him to pass
the word: Abandon ship" Comdr.
Flynn also is missing.
Il would set an outside limit of
IS minutes" Capt McVay related.
That is quite liberal figure for
the time before she disappeared
beneath the sea-"
The cruiser tilted severely, first !
to about Is degrees, then 60 degrees.
The captain grabbed a lifeline and |
pulled himself up the deck. The
ship rolled over to full 80 degrees,
and Capt. McVay was washed away |
in lather of swirling foam.
Il looked up, and above my head !
were the two big port screws.
said, This is the end of me; it's
bound to hit me-" l felt another
wave, heard water swishing, and
there was nothing there any more,
and was still there.
Next thing noticed was a crate
Of potatoes. got astride, then came
across part of a wooden desk. 1 |
saw two life RATS within 20 feet, |
with nobody aboard. I got one, then
secured the other"
Quartermaster SIC Vincent ]. AL
lard, 33. of Omak, Wash, joined the
skipper on his raft, and they soon
lifted two more men from the water.
They encountered another raft
and foater net which yielded five
more survivors.
after that we didn't hear any,
one call for help" the captain said.
I'VE thought we were the only sur
yivors."
During their FIVE days on the raft,