Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate and Innocent Man – Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
The worst U.S. Naval disaster after Pearl Harbor largely vacated the public consciousness for 30 years until Robert Shaw’s Quint, the shark-obsessed fisherman in “Jaws” gave his bone-chilling monologue about surviving the USS Indianapolis sinking.
There isn’t an easy answer as to the how and why an event that killed 900 people was largely forgotten, but in the exhaustive, sometimes tedious, but largely engrossing “Indianapolis” co-authors Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic try to answer those questions and reframe the narrative.
Essentially told in three parts — the USS Indianapolis’ experiences in World War II up to the July 30, 1945, sinking by a Japanese submarine; the harrowing stories from survivors about floating in the Philippine Sea for nearly four days; and the immediate fallout and quest to exonerate its captain, Charles McVay of negligence — the authors provide a comprehensive view of the disaster.
Even for a nonfiction fan, “Indianapolis” sometimes pushed my patience, especially in the first half, which is heavy on the innerworkings of a U.S. Navy heavy cruiser, military strategy and a very condensed view of the last several months of the war.
While I did learn a few interesting facts — specifically that Indianapolis spent the weeks before its sinking delivering the uranium that was used in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima — for someone more interested in the human aspect of the story, these sections were tedious.
About 230-pages in, however, the human elements become the focus, and it became a challenging and engrossing read. I had a difficult time putting it down, even though several sections outlining the horrendous trauma the Indianapolis’ crew endured made me want to.
The authors took great care in sharing the realities of those roughly 90 hours in the water, presenting an account that is harrowing but not exploitive.
From suffering with, and many succumbing to, injuries sustained in the initial torpedo attack, to the systematic shark attacks and the mania brought on by dehydration and drinking salt water it makes Shaw’s monologue in “Jaws” sound like a nursery rhyme. In this case, reality was far worse than fiction.
But I was as invested in the aftermath of the sinking, too, and the confluence of events that for many decades made Indianapolis a footnote in history.
First, why was the sinking initially overlooked? It happened roughly a week before atomic bombs were used on Japan and six weeks before V-J Day. For a nation — and world — fatigued and ready to rebuild, this reality was dissonant to celebration.
Second, why did the Navy court martial McVay? In hindsight, there was a significant CYA component by U.S. Navy leadership to not acknowledge its shortcomings that allowed for the Indianapolis’ sinking to go unnoticed for nearly four days.
McVay was the scapegoat they needed, even though multiple witnesses — including Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto, who sunk the ship — said there was nothing McVay could’ve done to prevent the attack.
Most affecting was how the survivors slowly started to reclaim the narrative and build awareness of what transpired. They began meeting annually in Indianapolis and even invited McVay, because they viewed him as a victim of circumstance but not at fault. Ultimately, McVay killed himself in 1968, but he was finally exonerated in the early 2000s.
While this book may not be for everyone, it is clear that the authors had reverence for the experiences of the men on the USS Indianapolis, and this book serves as a great honor to their memory.
Audio is probably the best format for the casual listener who wants to experience the story but doesn’t view nearly 600-pages of military history as pleasure reading. John Bedford Lloyd does a passable job of presenting the information but it’s a “just the facts” telling devoid of emotion.
Also, if you ever find yourself in the city of Indianapolis, visit the beautiful USS Indianapolis Memorial on the Canal Walk, the exhibit in the Indiana World War Memorial and the statue of James E. O’Donnell, the city’s only native son aboard the USS Indianapolis, at the City Market.
Rating (story): 4/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: October 22 - 30, 2021
Multi-tasking: Good to go. There’s a lot of detail, but you can still easily connect the dots.
