In the summer of 1945, World War II was churning toward its fiery climax. A new weapon had been born, a “destroyer of worlds.” During the last week of July, under the command of Captain Charles McVay III, USS Indianapolis delivered the core of this weapon—the world’s first atomic bomb—to its launch point, completing the most highly classified naval mission of the war.
Four days later, a Japanese submarine spotted Indianapolis and struck her with two torpedoes. Three hundred miles from the nearest land, Indy sank in just 12 minutes. Some 300 men went down with the ship, while nearly 900 made it into the water alive. When a series of communication errors ashore delayed rescue, these men fought for survival for five nights and four days. Wearing only life jackets or nothing at all, they battled hunger, thirst, exhaustion, insanity, sharks — and finally, each other.
Only 316 would survive.
Bio: Lynn Vincent’s latest book, written with filmmaker Sara Vladic, INDIANAPOLIS: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Navy History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man, was an instant New York Times bestseller. Lynn served with the U.S. Navy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Her experience proved critical in writing Dog Company: A True Story of American Soldiers Abandoned by Their High Command, written with former 101st Airborne infantry commander Captain Roger T. Hill. A veteran journalist and author of more than 1,000 articles, Lynn’s investigative pieces have been cited before Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been profiled in major media outlets, including Newsweek and The New Yorker. She is an accomplished writing instructor and public speaker, as well as the mother of the two handsomest, most brilliant sons in the universe. Lynn lives in the mountains east of San Diego with Danny, her husband of 30 years (and counting), and their three Labrador retrievers, Riggs, Abby and Treasure.
