Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man

Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic, 578 pages.

Vincent and Vladic do an incredible job recounting the history of the Indianapolis, a storied ship, sunk by torpedoes at the end of the war. The authors fill the book with stories of the crew members, stories of the Japanese sailors involved in its sinking, and the lengthy saga of the Captain's court martial and the subsequent attempts to clear his name. The ship itself is central to the story. Indianapolis served as Admiral Spruance's flagship during the war. She delivered the "Little Boy" atomic bomb to Tinian in preparation for its flight and detonation over Hiroshima. Indianapolis was among the last major American ships sunk in the war. And the fact that only 316 men, out of a crew of over 1100 survived the sinking and the almost five days floating in the Pacific, made it, as the title states, one of the US Navy's worst disasters ever. The book explores the various naval failures that led to the huge delay by the Navy in mounting a rescue operation. It was only by chance that a patrol bomber spotted the men in the water days after the Indianapolis had sunk. While there was plenty of blame to go around, and at least two Admirals had some possible culpability, the Captain of the Indianapolis, Charles McVay, was the only man during the war to face a Court Martial for having his ship sunk in battle. The fight to clear his name lasted until 2000.
Vincent and Vladic have written a great book, it's compelling and eminently readable.