On July 16, 1945, the U.S.S. Indianapolis departed from San Francisco Hunter Point Naval Shipyard to deliver components and enriched uranium-235 at record speeds to Tinian Islands. These components built the “Little Boy” atomic bomb to be loaded onto the Enola Gay and dropped on Hiroshima, Japan known to end the war. The ship was then sent to Guam to pick up replacement crew members. On July 28, 1945, the Indianapolis departed, unescorted, from Guam bound for Layte, Philippines,.
At 12:15 a.m. on July 30, the ship’s hull was struck by two type 95 Japanese torpedoes over the Mariana Trench by the Japanese submarine I-58. The first torpedo hit the Indianapolis' starboard bow, while the second hit the middle of the ship, igniting the fuel tank. In about 12 minutes, the entire ship sank into the deepest parts of the ocean. Crew members drowned, were struck by the propeller, or died in the explosions. Approximately 900 soldiers made it out of the explosions. However, the survivors of the explosion dwindled down to 316 men. Those who made it out of the explosion were stranded at sea for four days and five nights with mostly life jackets, a few rafts, or any object wandering by, like a potato crate. Oceanic whitetip sharks are thought to have attacked a majority of the Indianapolis crew. The others died of dehydration, starvation, salt poisoning, and drowning. Because some of them accidentally drank salt water, some even began to hallucinate and attack each other to death. When the ship did not reach their destination, Leyte, on the 31st, as scheduled, no report was made that she was overdue. Due to a misunderstanding of the Movement Report System and other errors, her loss went unnoticed until August 2, 1945. Shortly after 11 a.m., the survivors were accidentally discovered by Lieutenant Wilbur C. Gwinn, flying his PV-1 Ventura bomber on routine patrol. Gwinn radioed the report of “many men in the water,” which alerted a PBY flying boat that in turn alerted a nearby destroyer, the U.S.S. Cecil Doyle (DD-368). In response, they touched down and began taxiing to pick up survivors. Only 316 out of 1,196 men survived one of the most tragic losses for the Navy. This sinking remains the largest single number of casualties in the United States Naval history. On August 15, 1945, the sinking of the Indianapolis was reported by the United States and on the same day, the Emperor of Japan announced the surrender of his nation. Sadly, James McLaurin Harrison did not survive this attack. The precise area of his death was Asiatic-11°50’ North 133°30’ East, and his body was never recovered. The U.S.S Indianapolis commanding officer, Captain Charles B. McVay sent a letter to his family on September 25, 1945. This letter said, “Many men lost their lives almost instantaneously. The exact manner in which your son met his death is not known, but it is believed that he went down with his ship.” His family chooses to believe that he died quickly due to the explosions. After the war, Captain McVay was court-martialed and accused of negligence. It was noted that he was given orders to zig-zag in discretion. Because someone advised him there was little threat, he failed to carry out orders. However, survivors and others have defended him over the years. Captain McVay was stripped of seniority and never recovered from the blame, so he died from a self-inflicted gunshot in 1968. When the Survivors Organization was officially established, the survivors of the U.S.S Indianapolis sinking organized to clear his name. It gained public attention in 1996 when an eleven-year-old boy, Hunter Scott, for Pensacola, Florida, saw the movie "Jaws,” became fascinated, covered the story in a history project, and sent a questionnaire to the survivors. The survivor’s angry responses over the mistreatment of their captain led Hunter to clear McVay’s name. In April 1998, Hunter and fifteen survivors traveled to Washington to meet the House and Senate, advocating for a presidential pardon for Captain McVay. A major breakthrough occurred when Senator Smith persuaded Senator John Warner to hold a hearing on his joint resolution. On September 14, 1999, ten survivors came to Washington for the hearing, and seventeen survivors submitted statements for the record. Their emotional statements strongly impacted Senator Warner. In October 30, 2000, Congress exonerated Captain McVay of any wrongdoing. Captain McVay's record should now say "he is exonerated for the loss of the USS Indianapolis," which means that he was not guilty for the tragedy which led to his conviction. |
James McLaurin Harrison is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery Taguig City, Philippines. His family has a simple marker at their family burial site at Hopewell Cemetery, placed at the foot of the graves between his mother and father. The story of James McLaurin Harrison is still being passed on the Harrison family as they continue to honor his memory. His niece’s son and grandson, Nickolas McLaurin Walton, Senior and Nickolas McLaurin Walton, Junior, and two of his nephews, Paul McLaurin Harrison and James Laurin Bynum, are named after him. Relatives across the nation who have never met Mac watch the movie Men of Courage about the tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis to remember his name. On the heavy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis, his nickname given to him by his crewmates was “Mississippi.”
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