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The USS Indianapolis .Photograph Signed by 17 Survivors. Although the USS Indianapolis is best known for the fact that when it was sunk it lead to the largest number of deaths for a single incident in the history of the US Navy.However,before that, it was one of the most distinguished ships to serve in the Pacific War having won 10 battle stars for its distinguished service record in many of the key battles.

After having been damaged in battle it was sent for repairs and refitting.Thereafter it was assigned the top secret mission of delivering essential materials and parts for the atomic bombs to Tinian. On its return sail the ship went to Guam to offload some personnel and then the ship was en route to Leyte when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine. There were 1900 odd crew members only 321 of whom survived the sinking and 4 of those died later of exposure.The crew that survived spent 5 days in the water where they suffered from exposure and shark attacks.

One of the survivors was the captain Charles B. McKay III. He was court marshaled for loss of his ship as it turned out eventually became one of the most deplorable and disgraceful chapters in the history of the United States Navy. As was discovered 50 years later several members of the navy brass lied repeatedly during the trial to cover their own derelictions of duty and their testimony contributed to the verdict against McVay. The truth about the navy cover up was brought to light by a 12 year old school boy doing a research project a few years ago, the details of which are available on the web.. One of the questions that McVay kept asking before, during and after the trial was why it took 5 days for the Navy to come to their rescue. At the time, the Navy claimed that no SOS messages were received. The truth was that at least three SOS messages were received separately, but none were acted upon because one commander was drunk, another had ordered his men not to disturb him and a third thought it was a Japanese prank.Kind of like the oncoming Japanese air armada was thought to be either birds or our own planes by the radar station near Pearl Harbor. McVay eventually committed suicide because of his disgrace. When the truth was revealed Congress acted and President Clinton signed a finding clearing McVay's name.

This offering is an 8 in x 10 in B&W photo of the USS Indianapolis that is signed by 17 of the survivors as shown. the photograph is in excellent condition.This photograph was taken at Mare Island, CA just before the ship left for Tinian.

Price:$375.00