Men of the USS Indianapolis: Lost at Sea, Remembered at Home. Have you heard how they are recognizing the 70th anniversary of this tragedy?

2015-07-12T13:39:46-04:00

As the flag ripples in the breeze, John Cadwallader and his sister, Donna Hyland, are silent, lost in thought.

They are on the Downtown Canal, watching as the Stars and Stripes are lowered at the USS Indianapolis Memorial, folded with precision and presented to them in honor of their father, John J. Cadwallader, gone 70 years now.

The elder Cadwallader left home on July 4, 1945, to join the crew of the USS Indianapolis in San Francisco, leaving behind his wife, 3-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter. Four weeks later, he and nearly 900 others would die in the worst naval disaster in U.S. history.

For every new American flag raised daily atop the USS Indianapolis Memorial for the past several weeks, there is a story. A heartbreaking story of how a family was shattered by the death of a sailor. Their sailor.

As the 70th anniversary of the ship's sinking nears and plans for this year's reunion of USS Indianapolis survivors and families (July 23-26) are finalized, Bullard has been coordinating the flag program from 600 miles away. She's had help from the USS Indianapolis CA-35 Second Watch Organization, the Indiana War Memorial Commission and FedEx in buying, flying and shipping flags to families around the country.

http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/life/2015/07/03/men-uss-indianapolis-lost-sea-remembered-home/29666313/

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made Jul 12 at 2015 1:51 PM

2015-07-12T13:51:05-04:00

My fathers best friend was Navy WWII and was torpedoed and spent some time in the water with sharks. I am not sure if he was an Indy survivor, but as a very young boy, hearing his stories of gathering crewman bobbing in their jackets only to find them gone from the waist down was pretty horrifying.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 12 at 2015 2:00 PM

2015-07-12T14:00:21-04:00

USS Indianapolis ...

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 12 at 2015 2:03 PM

2015-07-12T14:03:03-04:00

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 12 at 2015 2:03 PM

2015-07-12T14:03:32-04:00

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 12 at 2015 3:11 PM

2015-07-12T15:11:17-04:00

One of my Fathers Cousins is on that list.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 12 at 2015 6:07 PM

2015-07-12T18:07:52-04:00

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad.

Response by PO1 Michael Fullmer made Jul 12 at 2015 7:02 PM

2015-07-12T19:02:54-04:00

I believe the monument is well worth while. The book was tremendous. Had communications not broken down perhaps they wouldnt have lost 2/3's of those who went in the water. No one knew for sure where she was supposed to be, due to the secrecy of their mission. My personal opinion, is that if HQ in Guam or Australia known their sked, more could have been saved.

Response by CSM William Payne made Jul 12 at 2015 8:50 PM

2015-07-12T20:50:24-04:00

My father CPO Paul Payne served proudly on the USS Indianapolis from 1937 until 1943. He retired in 1967 after thirty years and passed away in 1997. We had a picture of her hanging in our family room. It wasn't until Jaws came out that I realized that was the same ship my dad had served on. While he was healthy he would attend their reunions, the only ship he did that for.

Response by Sgt Ken Prescott made Jul 12 at 2015 11:18 PM

2015-07-12T23:18:23-04:00

My Dad (God rest his soul) once said that, while the enemy was SOMETIMES trying to kill you, the sea was ALWAYS trying to kill you.

We are intruders when we venture forth into Poseidon's domain.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2015 9:25 AM

2015-07-13T09:25:09-04:00

The USS Indianapolis if I remember correctly was in route to Titian carrying carrying a large amount of uranium unescorted through known enemy (Japanese) occupied waters. Failed scheduled check ins and no alarm was given, failed to arrive in port and no alarm was given. Command that knew of her mission failed to follow up. It was estimated 880 men went into the sea of those there were only about 317 survived 4 days adrift at sea. The failure here at all levels no in order of importance 1. provide appropriate protection 2. report failed communication attempts 3. failed to report non arrival of ship 4. failure to followup by staff officers on the ship. It is beyond comprehension.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 13 at 2015 10:18 AM

2015-07-13T10:18:03-04:00

Awesome story. Thanks.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jul 13 at 2015 10:36 AM

2015-07-13T10:36:50-04:00

Read about it and have seen shows about this tragedy. Terrible suffering and absolute gallantry. Sad episode.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jul 13 at 2015 10:47 AM

2015-07-13T10:47:16-04:00

What a way to do it. Congrats to all.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 13 at 2015 10:52 AM

2015-07-13T10:52:02-04:00

The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis --- an eyewitness account of the greatest naval disaster in US history ...
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/indianapolis.htm

The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, 1945

An eyewitness account of the greatest naval disaster in US history.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Jul 13 at 2015 11:54 AM

2015-07-13T11:54:12-04:00

There were a lot of people lost at sea during WWII. The Japanese were vicious in their attacks of US ships, in Pearl Harbor and at sea. That the ship wasn't able to get out a Mayday call and no-one at PacFleet knew about the sinking made it even worse.

I have been in independent ops on several ships. Those were in peace time deployments. But all the same, any ship sailing by itself can be lost at sea without anyone knowing. I guess these days with GPS and all the SATCOM stuff, along with EPIRBS and other life saving devices, this kind of tragedy can probably be averted, but nonetheless, it's something that people on independent steaming always think about...

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 13 at 2015 12:22 PM

2015-07-13T12:22:52-04:00

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad, Thanks for posting this question. I had not heard about the memorial for the ship that went down while it was supporting the mission to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The secrecy of the mission hindered rescue efforts and I am sure was incredibly hard to deal with for the survivors that were watching their mates getting eaten around them. I can't imagine the nightmares those men must have suffered that were pulled out alive.

Response by CPO Emmett (Bud) Carpenter made Jul 13 at 2015 5:35 PM

2015-07-13T17:35:16-04:00

Good post. The men of the Sea Service say thank you.

Response by MCPO Douglas Pennington made Jul 14 at 2015 11:37 AM

2015-07-14T11:37:01-04:00

On several cruises i'd look out at the vast beyond just trying to fathom the sea's furry. It is a mighty might that is there. you think about your only 60 - 80 foot above the surface that goes down over 5,000 foot or more.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 30 at 2015 12:12 PM

2015-07-30T12:12:40-04:00

On anniversary of USS Indianapolis tragedy, a cousin remembers ...

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20150729-steve-blow-on-anniversary-of-uss-indianapolis-tragedy-a-cousin-remembers.ece

Steve Blow: On anniversary of USS Indianapolis tragedy, a cousin remembers

Pamela Cantrell-Brown of Mesquite works to honor Billy George Cantrell and the nearly 900 other sailors who died 70 years ago.