Posted on Jul 12, 2015
Men of the USS Indianapolis: Lost at Sea, Remembered at Home. Have you heard how they are recognizing the 70th anniversary of this tragedy?
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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/
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/
Posted in these groups: 
Naval/Maritime History
Naval/Maritime History
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 19
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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.
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GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad
I know LTC Stephen F. --- I spent a lot of time reading about this yesterday and ended up having nightmares about it last night. Can't even begin to imagine what it was like ...
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Read about it and have seen shows about this tragedy. Terrible suffering and absolute gallantry. Sad episode.
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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.
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PO1 Mike Edgecomb
It was on the way back from Tinian. It had already delivered the core of the bomb. The war was over, and was sunk by a sub that did not get the word. There were mistakes made to be sure.
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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.
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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.
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GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad
Cpl Dennis F. --- it is hard for me to imagine anything more horrifying than what those men went through.
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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
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.
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