Remembering the USS Indianapolis, nearly 80 years after its sinking
*Richard Thelen passed away in 2021 at age 94. At that time, he was one of five survivors still alive from the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945. Today, only one survivor remains from the sinking which resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the U.S Navy. His comments in this story come from a 2019 interview with War Memorial Communications Manager Alex Szwarc.
Richard Thelen’s first voyage out to international waters was quite memorable, to say the least.
Of the 1,196 men aboard the USS Indianapolis at the time of its sinking on July 30, 1945 during World War II, only 316 survived. Today, only Harold Bray remains.
Hanging in the lower level of The Alger House at The War Memorial, “Fateful Voyage” is a painting by Bulgarian artist Marii Chernev depicting the USS Indianapolis. The painting is signed by three survivors, including Thelen.
For a while, the Lansing resident was the lone Michigan survivor living. Thelen joined the Navy in December 1944 at the age of 17. He was assigned to the Indianapolis in May 1945 while it was docked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, northeast of San Francisco.
On July 16, the ship set sail for Tinian Island with key components of the first atomic bomb, “Little Boy,” the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat. The Indianapolis arrived in Tinian July 26.
When asked if he noticed anything different about the unknown shipment onboard, Thelen said, “Old-timers tell me that you go full board for the first 10 to 15 hours to make sure everything is working right. We kept it up for nine days, just as fast as that ship could go.”
Thelen went to sleep at 11:50 p.m. July 29 on the top deck of the ship. It blew up a few minutes after midnight and sunk in the Philippine Sea after it was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58.
“I was sleeping when it blew up. I went flying in the air, but I don’t know if I went two feet or 20 feet,” he said.
The second torpedo struck the quarterdeck of the ship, which sank less than 12 minutes later.
“The quarterdeck was engulfed in flames so nobody crossed it,” he said. “Somebody was saying we weren’t going to get out, so there were life vests by the 8-inch guns and some guy had a knife and cut them down. We threw four of five of them off. By that time, the starboard side was lifting pretty good.”
By the time he got a life jacket, Thelen said the ship was lifted so much that he couldn’t stand up. Instead, he started to slide.
“So many people ask me where I was on the ship when I jumped off. I didn’t jump off the ship, the ship left me,” Thelen said.
By the time the Indianapolis sunk, roughly 300 of the 1,196 men went down with it, leaving the survivors in shark-infested and diesel fuel saturated salt water.
Being surrounded by nothing but water, one can imagine the temptation the survivors faced to drink the saltwater, which Thelen said was the greatest challenge.
“I saw guys get real thirsty and start taking their life jackets off saying they were going down below deck to get a cold drink of water,” Thelen said. “If you gulped some saltwater on an empty stomach, your eyeballs pop out a little bit and within an hour or two, you’re totally insane and it would kill them. A lot of them went that way.”
Thelen said he tried persuading other guys to not drink the water, but it didn’t work. He went five days with no food or water. He, along with 95 fellow survivors, were picked up by the USS Doyle while it was still dark out on the morning of Aug. 3. At that point, he was too weak to climb a rope ladder to reach the ship.
Thelen remained in the Navy for one year after the Indy was attacked. He was discharged in August 1946. He married JoAnne in 1951. The couple had six children, 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. JoAnne died in 2002.
About The War Memorial
The War Memorial, located on the shores of Lake Saint Clair in Grosse Pointe Farms is an experiential space open to everyone. For over 70 years, it has served as a patriotic, cultural, and community center. Its unique environment attracts more than 3,000 events and 250,000 visitors annually while offering premier hospitality services for community and private gatherings. Its diverse lineup of innovative programming includes live and virtual engagement experiences for adults and children. At its core, The War Memorial celebrates the ideas of American democracy while honoring those who have defended those ideas with tireless effort and personal sacrifice. Numerous patriotic and veterans’ events are held as well as history and civics offerings on the origin, traditions, and challenges facing American democracy. The War Memorial remains committed to serving the community as a unique, dynamic, and forward-thinking hub for southeast Michigan.
CONTACT:
Alex Szwarc, The War Memorial
Manager of Communications
313.881.7514, aszwarc@warmemorial.org