How I Survived The 1945 Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

How I Survived The 1945 Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

In honor of Memorial Day, Richard's guest is WWII Marine survivor Edgar Harrell, who shared his heroic survival story at one of our Men's Breakfasts in 2019.

At the time, Sergeant Ed Harrell was the last surviving Marine of the ⁠USS Indianapolis⁠. Two years after speaking at our event, Harrell ⁠passed away⁠ at the age of 96. 

July 30, 1945: After transporting uranium for the atomic bomb that would soon be dropped on Hiroshima, the USS Indianapolis headed unaccompanied toward a small island in the South Pacific. At 12:14 a.m., she was struck by two Japanese torpedoes, rolled over, and sank.

Harrell vividly describes the horrors of being plagued by dehydration, exposure, saline poisoning, and sharks. This is a story of courage, ingenuity, and faith in God's providence in the midst of the greatest catastrophe at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy.

Want to hear more about Ed Harrell’s story? Pick up his book Out of the Depths here.

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