In July 1945, the cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk following a top-secret mission to deliver atom bomb components to Tinian Island. This was the bomb dropped on Hiroshima that led to the Japanese surrender, three weeks later.
After departing Tinian, the ship’s captain, Captain Charles McVay, set a high speed, direct course toward the Island of Leyte. Unfortunately, the ship became sighted at close range by the Japanese submarine I-58 and sunk with 882 of the ship’s 1,196-person crew perishing. It was the greatest single loss at sea by a single ship during WW II. The euphoria of the war’s end just twelve days later, over shadowed the tragedy. Yet, in response to the staggering loss of life, the Navy had to do something. It court marshalled Captain McVay for not using a defensive Zig-Zag course while underway. At the trial the Japanese submarine commander, Mochitisura Hashimoto, testified that because of his close range when firing his torpedoes, Zig-Zagging would not have made a difference. Nevertheless, they found Captain McVay responsible for the sinking and he suffered years of disgrace and depression. Families of the killed sailors blamed him personally for the deaths. In 1968 McVay ended his life by suicide. Twenty-eight years after his death, thanks to research of the accident done by a sixth-grade boy, Hunter Scott, a congressional investigation was conducted. Captain McVay was exonerated of any fault in the ship’s loss.
Lt Adrian Marks was the heroic Navy pilot who saved 56 survivors floating in the debris of the sunken ship. Risking his life and the life of his crew, he landed his amphibious PBY aircraft in twelve-foot-seas even though he knew the landing would damage the aircraft leaving it unable to takeoff. The plane’s crew pulled those without rafts or life jackets from the shark invested water to safely awaiting the rescue ships.
In 1996, I discovered Adrian Marks practiced law in Frankfort, Indiana, just a block from our branch office in that town. I planned a visit to Frankfort to meet Mr. Marks. To my crushing disappointment, Adrian Marks died just three days before my visit.

Marks, 4th from left in khakis