from my blog at http://theatleeappeal.com

So I finished another book. Rarely have I finished a book within 5 days of purchase. However, In Harm’s Way – The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis by Doug Stanton was absolutely incredible. This will end up being a much shorter review than the previous 2 books I’ve discussed because the story was just that intense. Outside the Revolutionary War, there has not been a greater example of American power and exceptionalism as our victories over the Nazi’s and Japan during the early 1940s. There has also never been a greater Naval disaster in the history of this country as the sinking of the Indianapolis.

The meat of the story picks up when the Indianapolis, commanded by Captain Charles McVay, left the comfort of San Francisco Bay and headed towards the small island of Tinian on July 16, 1945. Little did the members of this ship know that their mission would bring about the end of WW2. It was this ship that delivered the first atomic bomb which would be dropped on Hiroshima. The atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy”, dropped from the Enola Gay and completely flattened Hiroshema on August 6th, 1945. The Indianapolis had been sunk only about a week prior on July 30, just after it had delivered the bomb. Could you imagine the ramifications had it been torpedoed before the delivery?

But what is it about this ship’s sinking that made it so controversial? There are many reasons as to why, to which I will not go into great detail because you honestly just need to read the book for yourself to get a vivid picture. An astonishing 5 days passed between when the ship was initially torpedoed and when the remaining survivors were plucked from the Pacific Ocean. In all, 1,196 serviceman were aboard the USS Indianapolis when it was hit. Only 317 survived the 5 day-long ordeal.

What exactly happens to large amounts of bruised and bloodied men when they enter and remain in the warm, salt water of the Pacific Ocean for 5 days? As you might imagine, gruesome shark attacks were prevalent – numbering in the hundreds. Many of the sailors became suicidal and drowned themselves or drank salt water. Third degree sunburns from constant sun exposure with the ocean acting as a pool of slightly diluted acid was also a major part of these men’s ordeals. Body temperatures dropped from being submerged in 85 degree water. But, the complete failure of communication between the chain of commands in-between islands is the most shocking part. A vessel of over 1,000 men became nothing more than a ghost for nearly 4 days – until a plane who was not even on a rescue mission piloted by Lt. Chuck Gwinn spotted random survivors floating on the ocean surface.

One of the most troubling things of all about this incident is that Captain McVay was court martialed back in the States for this incident – the only Naval officer to be court martialed even though over 700 ships were sank during WW2. The reason for his court martial was due to a charge that the captain failed to “zig-zag”. However, under Navy protocol back then, zig-zagging was not necessary during periods of low visibility which other members of the crew claimed during the hearings. Once reading this book, you learn that it was not entirely the fault of McVay for his ship being torpedoed. It was especially not his fault that the Navy failed to even take notice of his ship missing for 4 days. This was a massive communications failure for the US Navy during the most important time during the battles of the Pacific.

When you look back, you realize that if it wasn’t for the droppings of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the War would not have ended as abruptly. The war would have lingered, and many more Americans would have surely died in combat. Truman realized that in war, you must completely overwhelm a resilient enemy in order to force them to surrender. The Japanese partly showed their utter commitment to victory by sending their own pilots to dive bomb American ships in order to create more damage. Truman, with the help of our friendly atomic bombs, scared the living crap out of the rest of Japan and they wanted nothing more to do with fighting America. Nagasaki was flattened on August 9, 1945 – it only took the Japanese a few days to surrender after that.

Get in to history folks. It’s amazing some of the stuff you will read about. It is also a wonderful change of pace from reading non-stop political and economic updates. Instead of picking up the latest gossip magazine or watching the next episode of ‘American Idle’ or ‘Jersey Shore’, pick up a copy of In Harm’s Way. This book is a whopping $7. If you ever thought you had even the slightest interest in learning more history about World War 2, that interest will be compounded 100 fold after reading this.