She was returning straight from Tinian alone
When the predator sub I-58 found her
Two torpedoes struck hard, and her bow was blown
Twelve minutes later the cruiser had gone under.
Nine hundred sailors made it into the water;
Three hundred more men on the ship were entombed.
Few of them suspected the oncoming slaughter;
S.O.S alert were sent, quick rescue assumed.
Blue sharks, silk sharks, and white tips all came the first night;
One hundred and a half feasted on the fresh dead.
Flesh was torn off bloating corpses bite by bite,
The sharks ate their limbs first, consuming each shred.
Day two: The navy determined the ship was late.
And, the oceanic gluttons were now less shy.
Some delirious, others resigned to their fate;
Buddies were pulled under without even a cry.
The sharks were even braver on day number three
The wretched wrecks suffered hallucinations;
And searched for ice cream and water under the sea;
Neglected by navies of two warring nations
The survivors were sighted on day number four
Doc Haynes declared three hundred floaters had passed
When VPB-23 shoved that raft out the door
Salvation arrived for the survivors at last
All but three hundred and seventeen men had died
These few men were pulled from the sea on the fourth day
Years later one more death, this one a suicide.
It was the naval scapegoat, brave Captain McVay.
Author notes
The world's first operational atomic bomb was delivered by the Indianapolis, (CA-35) to the island of Tinian on 26 July 1945. The Indianapolis then reported to CINCPAC (Commander-In-Chief, Pacific) Headquarters at Guam for further orders. She was directed to join the battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan. The Indianapolis, unescorted, departed Guam on a course of 262 degrees making about 17 knots.
At 14 minutes past midnight, on 30 July 1945, midway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, she was hit by two torpedoes out of six fired by the I-58, a Japanese submarine. The first blew away the bow, the second struck near midship on the starboard side adjacent to a fuel tank and a powder magazine. The resulting explosion split the ship to the keel, knocking out all electric power. Within minutes she went down rapidly by the bow, rolling to starboard.
Of the 1,196 aboard, about 900 made it into the water in the twelve minutes before she sank. Few life rafts were released. Most survivors wore the standard kapok life jacket. Shark attacks began with sunrise of the first day and continued until the men were physically removed from the water, almost five days later. This poem is based on actual events and as far as I know does not stray from the truth.
Captain McVay was courtmartialed by the navy who needed a scapegoat, despite the testimony of his men in his favor. Even the Japansese sub commander said that it had been a show trial. Captain McVay later committed suicide.
In a list
A contest entry
- PIF-Swimming in Shark Infested Waters by breedluv.
1350 points, ended August 8, 2008, 9 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - History: BIG events and BIG people by Yorkshire Rose.
450 points, ended August 15, 2008, 16 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Veterans Day by Cynthia Gaines.
2000 points, ended November 14, 2008, 27 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 26 of 26
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Brilliant!!
Awesome imagery!! 
Thank you for sharing your heart-and-soul-felt poem with all of us!! 
Wishing all the best to you, always. Peace, love & hugs, xx Cyn xx 
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Thank you very much. I am glad you enjoyed it. It was one of my first historical poems. Thank you very much for the HM.
Mike -
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Thank YOU for your fine entry...
You really put a lot of work into this poem, and added tons of research... Your poem is full of gut-wrenching terror, it's almost like watching a horror movie... and it's all really very sad. This is one of the poems that should have gotten another golden cup, but I couldn't award everyone the top prize... the HMs are in no particular order, although I'd like you to know that your poem is outstanding and deserves the gold again... and again... Thank you so much, your entry really grabbed at my heartstrings. I'll be back to read more of your work soon. Take care... Peace always, Cyn
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wow, this is really powerful and so sad, i am glad you added the author's note about the actual piece of history this was written about, how sad war is, i think this piece has special meaning on this day, so very well written best of luck in the contest
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it very much. Warfare is brutal and tragic, but nothing is more tragic when lives are lost needlessly.
Mike
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Mike
I read the book and it was tragic yet amazing how some lived through such a thing. History, not revised, is such a wonderful read my poet friend. Thanks for the reminder.
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the poem. It was a bit of a challenge to get accurate facts into a readable rhyming poem.
Mike
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wow, this makes u stop and think some brillaint knowledge in the poem also brillaint imagery in the poem, well done and thank you for your entry
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed the poem.
Mike
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sad
sad but informative write for the prompt . . liked your descriptive style . . also "And, the oceanic gluttons were less shy" and "The wretched wrecks suffered hallucinations" . . congrats on the trophy
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed my narrative. I am trying to use more adjectives in my poems.
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Awesome literal interpretation of the prompt. I like storytelling, and you have done a superb job on this one. You conveyed the fear they must have felt very well. Wonderful!
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I am glad you enjoyed the poem. I loved the prompt. Thanks for the gold cup.
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wow to be honest I had a short movie about the Hiroshima bomb about the Fitterboy
wow.. youre like a psychic! lol jk this is a greta write and a lot of info I might need.. thanks cuz and best of luck!
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I am glad you liked the poem. I didnt realize it when i was writing the poem that it was the evening before the anniversary of the bomb. This is what i think about when I think about shark attacks.
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The captain? That doesn't make sense, why would they court martial him?
Enthralling read, kept my attention all the way through.
I love the sense of impending doom here, suspense
I wish you all the best, and blessings always,
jin
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The captain was court martialed for negligence resulting in the destruction of a naval vessel and dereliction of duty. The court martial remains controversial to this day. 4 junior shore based officers were also court martialed. Most of the controversy surrounds the idea that the admirals were actually responsible, but were not called to the carpet.
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Good piece you have penned here....
I thought after the first couple lines it was starting off slow but from there your words just drew me in and I was in for the entire read enthralled in the story as it unfolded in a sobering reality of the event without ever getting too far into the grim details with which there must have been plenty, unfortunately. Excellent write.
I was curious why on earth did they court martial the Captain? what did he do wrong?? Sometimes the military blows my mind with the hypocrisy of their interpretations of things.
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I am glad you enjoyed the poem. The story is very tragic. The court martial is widely considered today to be a whitewash to protect the ca-rears of admirals higher in the chain of command.
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I love this, the way you told the story, so vividly
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I tried to impart a sense of the danger and desperation when I wrote it.
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grr forgot these..
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Thank you for the smiling reindeer.
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lmao you and your smiling reindeer...LOL
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Mike, this is by far the best read I think I've read in a long time. I loved the history in this piece..it brought back memories of when my dad was over there.. A stunning write, and I wish you all the luck! Awesome work!
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Thanks. I am glad you enjoyed it. I took me a while to write and get it to flow. The meter is off in a couple of lines. I liked better though.
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