"The worst part...wasn't the sharks, and it wasn't seeing your buddies die...It was when you realize...they've forgotten us. We can't last out here forever-- we're gonna die..."--Giles McCoy, private first-class, USMC, USS Indianapolis
On the night of July 30, 1945, the Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese sub, sending 900 men into the black, churning waters of the Pacific. What happened next was a nightmarish battle for survival. Injured, adrift, clinging to each other and their waterlogged life rafts, the men watched in horror as their crewmates fell victim to catastrophic injuries, exposure, hallucinations, and relentless shark attacks. Worst of all, their last radio S.O.S. had been disregarded by the Navy as a possible prank. When help finally arrived an astonishing five days later, only 317 of the ship's crew were still alive. Meticulously researched, including eyewitness reports from USS Indianapolis survivors, In Harm's Way recounts with frightening accuracy those five harrowing days at sea, and gives readers a moving, unforgettable account of the worst naval disaster at sea in U.S. history.
The nation's worst naval disaster is vividly chronicled, exposing extreme heroism in the face of persistent shark attacks and hypothermia in the aftermath of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine during the fiA few men were vomiting so violently that they were actually doing somersaults in the water. Trying to keep his wits, Dr. Haynes called out, "Here! Right here! Where is the sick sailor?" And then he moved into the throng. It was not a happy sight. In the crowd, about a dozen sailors were holding a body aloft, an incredible feat of strength considering they were all treading water furiously to stay afloat beneath the added weight.
The man in question was in terrible shape. His eyes had been burned away. The flesh on his hands was gone and what remained were bare tendons. The boys held him in an effort to keep these terrible wounds out of the salt water. Haynes recognized the man as his good friend and liberty buddy, gunnery officer Stanley Lipski. Miraculously, Lipski had made his way blind from the quarterdeck, off the ship, and into the water.
Haynes knew that Lipski's pain must be unbearable-- he himself could barely look at his old friend, who was moaning softly. Stanley, he knew, was one tough bird; Haynes also understood that he didn't have long to live. Reluctantly, he turned away to those he could actually help.
A former contributing editor at Esquire and Outside, Doug Stanton is now a contributing editor at Men's Journal. He received an M.F.A. from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. He lives in northern Michigan. An international bestseller, In Harm's Way has been translated into German, Japanese, Danish, and Italian, and optioned by Warner Brothers to be made into a major motion picture.
In Harm's Way was a Publishers Weekly Notable Book of the Year, a Barnes and Noble.com Editor's Pick, an Amazon Historical Bestseller, and was chosen by Book magazine as "One of the ten who made it big."
For more information concerning the USS Indianapolis survivors and In Harm's Way, visit: www.ussindianapolisinharmsway.com
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