LEFT TO DIE: The Tragedy of the USS Juneau

372 Pages·1994·40.004 MB·English

by  Dan Kurzman

LEFT TO DIE
TRAGEDY
THE OF
USS
THE jyHlAll
POCKET
BOOKS
:-*^ ^Smu^^^
How nearly 700 men-includin^f the five
Sullivan brothers-died in torpedo and shark
attacks in one of WWII's most secret scandals
DANKURZMAN
Award-winning author of
Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the L/5S Indianapolis
"Smokes and crackles with outrage."—Jonathan Kirsch. Los Angeles Times
LOOK FOR
4 DAN KURZMAN'S
$5.99U.S. FflTflL UOYflGE:
$7.99CAN.
The Sinking of the
USS Indianapolis
"A gripping story oftragedy and
cover-up by the U.S. Navy. This is the
kind of book that only a top
investigative reporter could write."
—Robert Pierpoint, CBS News
Available from Pocket Books
—
,
A
Tragedy at Sea.
A
Shocking Naval Cover-Up.
Award-winning journalist Dan Kurzman
tells the gripping true story of the
brave fighting men who were
. • •
LEFT TO DIE
The Tragedy of the USS Juneau
"One of the worst disasters in U—.S. Navy history The
story ofthe sinkingoftheJuneau alongwith questions that
still persist over the Navy's probity in the blast aftermath
"
is told in riveting detail—
^William Gordon, Newark Star-Ledger
"[A] wrench—ing story. ..."
^Floyd Beaver, San Francisco Examiner & Chronic^
"[A] powerful book about the horrors of war at sea ... a
"
taleofsurvivalagainstallodd—s,oftenprofilesincourage
Ronn Ronck, Honolulu Advertiser
"Vivid accounts of the survivors' battle against sharks and
deUrium [Left to Die] strongly suggests that the U.S.
Navy tried to cover up tragic errors and misjudgments that
followed the sinking of th—e USS Juneau.**
^Jack Hovelson, Des Moines Register
"Kurzman'sprovocative questions shed newhght on the cir-
cumstances that led to unfathomed suffering and sacrifice
... a gripping tale." —
^P. L. Tarter, Commonwealth Journal
Turn thepagefor reviews ofDan Kurzman's Fatal Voyage.
.
Also by Dan Kurzman
• • •
FATAL VOYAGE
The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis
"Kurzman brings to Fatal Voyage a sense of urgency and
high drama Thanks to Fatal Voyage, the sacrifice of the
men of the Indianapolis has been suitably remembered
. .
and honored."
—
^Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
i"nMrt.heKumrezmmaonr'ys descAriptwieolnl-toofldt—heaInnddidainsatpuorlbiisng.—. .dilsinagsetresr
story."
—
William H. Honan, The New York Times Book Review
''[Fatal VoyageYs greatest asset is the author's marvelous
storytelling ability. No suspense novel could be more rivet-
ing than [this] heroic survival—narrative "
^Larry Haueter, Tampa Tribune
"One hell of a good story."
—
Bill Boldenweck, San Francisco Examiner
"Kurzman takes this gigantic tragedy and tells it in very
personal terms The writing style is compelling Kurz-
man records dozens of tales of heroism, large and small.
One can onlymarvel at thesuperhumanfeatsmanis capable
of in times of crisis."
—
Rich Gotshall, Indianapolis Star
"An excellent book All of Stephen King's fictional ter-
ror couldn't begin to approach the real horrors endured by
both those initial sinking survivors who were ultimately res-
cued and those who died miserably Kurzman's writing
skill plus his dihgent research bring this bit of horrible and
tawdry history ahve."
—Charles Edgren, ElPaso Herald-Post
"Kurzman's gripping book pain—ts a ... horrib—le scene. The
sinking of the Indianapolis was and remains perhaps the
most shameful naval disaster in American—history."
^Ken Gross, People
"In dramatic and entertaining fashion, Kurzman recreates
the ill-fated cruise and the tragic aftermath Kurzman, an
able historian and a talented writer, gives an especially grip-
pmg account of the survivors' day—s adrift."
^Jim Kobak, Kirkus Reviews
"A first-rate work, covering the details of the sinking, the
five-day ordeal of the survivors in shark-infested water, and
the unusual court-martial." —
Publishers Weekly
"A compelling narrative ... A true story as gripping as any
thriller fiction. The human suffering it documents is epic in
its breadth and penetrating in its depth Painstaking and
agonizing heart-wrenching."
. .—.
^Barrett Richardson, Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star
Books by Dan Kurzman
Left to Die: The Tragedy ofthe USS Juneau*
Fatal Voyage: The Sinking ofthe USS Indianapolis*
A Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Catastrophe
Day ofthe Bomb: Countdown to Hiroshima
Ben-Gurion: Prophet ofFire
Miracle ofNovember: Madrid's Epic Stand 1936
The Bravest Battle: The 28 Days ofthe Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Racefor Rome
Genesis 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War
Santo Domingo: Revolt ofthe Damned
Subversion ofthe Innocents
Kishi andJapan: The Searchfor the Sun
*Published by POCKET BOOKS
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grants a discount on the purchase of 10 ormore copies of
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PocketBooks, 1230AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork, NY
10020.
For information on how individual consumers can place
orders, please write to Mail Order Department, Paramount
Publishing,200OldTappan Road, OldTappan, NJ07675.
LEFT TO DIE
THE TRAGEDY OF
THE US JIIHIAI!
S
DAN KURZMAN
POCKETBOOKS
NewYork London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore
—
For my dear wife, Florence
whose spirit brightens every page
even as the ocean roars its rage
ThesaleofthisbookwithoutItscoverisunauthorized. Ifyou purchased
this book without a cover, you should be awarethat it was reported to
thepublisheras"unsoldanddestroyed."Neithertheauthornorthepub-
lisher has received paymentforthe sale ofthis "stripped book."
POCKETBOOKS, adivisionofSimon & SchusterInc.
1230 Avenue ofthe Americas, New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 1994 by Dan Kurzman
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
this book or portions thereofin any form whatsoever.
For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue
of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 0-671-74874-2
First Pocket Books paperback printing May 1995
987654321
10
POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of
Simon & Schuster Inc.
Front cover illustration by Brian Kotzky
Printed in the U.S.A.
Acknowledgments
I am deeply grateful to my wife, Florence, for her indis-
pensable collaboration in the preparation of this book. She
helped to edit it, rewriting passages and offering invaluable
advice on bringing to life the characters portrayed.
Mywarm thanks are alsoduePaulMcCarthy, myeditorat
Pocket Books, and Juhan Bach, my agent, for their splendid
editorial suggestions.
I wish to express my appreciation as well to the following
people for their generous help in faciUtating my research:
—
Pat Ailing —^hbrarian, Waterloo, Iowa, Public Library
Bilhe Bailey director, Grout Museum of History and Sci-
ence, Waterlo—o, Iowa
Richard Boylan archivist, Suitland Reference Branch, Na-
tional Archives,—Washington, D.C.
Mary Catalfamo ^librarian, Nimitz Library, U.S. Naval
Academy, Annapohs, Maryland
—
Bernard F. Cavacante director. Operational Archives
Branch, Naval H—istorical Center, Washington, D.C.
Rebecca Christian ^free-lanc—e writer
Col. Elhot V. Converse III Historical Research Center,
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
vii
—
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
—
Deb Cue office of—the president, Citibank
Capt. George Cully Historical Research Center, Maxwell
Air Force Base
—
Dan Dundon —city editor, Waterloo Courier
Dick Gamma Historical Research Center, Maxwell Air
Force Base—
Susan Graves daughter-in-law of Vice Adm. Robert B.
Carney —
Father Donald—Hawes ^pastor, St. Mary's Church, Waterloo
John Hodges Naval Historical Foundation, Washington,
D.C
—
Scott Johnson scientist, Naval Ocean Systems Center, San
Diego, Calif—ornia
Robert Kemp—USS Juneau researcher
Yuko Ku—bota ^interpreter from Japanese
Jim Lee Naval Historical Foundation
—
Kenneth Lyftog—t professor, University of Northern Iowa
Michael Magee ^researcher, SuUivan family
Jean Max Time magazine
—
John C. Reilly, Jr. Ships Histories Branch, Naval Histori-
cal Center—
Saul Shapiro ed—itor, Waterloo Courier
Hiromi Shino—bu translator from Japanese
Seiichi Soeda coordinator, media assistance. Foreign Press
Center/Japa—n, Tokyo, Japan
Paul Stillwell editor, Naval History, U.S. Naval Institute,
AnnapoUs, Maryland
—
Jan Taylor Ubrarian, Grout Museum of History and
Science
—
Richard A. von Doenhoff naval historian, Mihtary Refer-
ence Branch,—National Archives
Mike Walker archivist. Operational Archives Branch,
Naval Histor—ical Center
Cheri Watson Ships Histories Branch, Naval Historical
Center
—
Harold Woodruff official, Army-Navy Country Club, Ar-
lington, Vir—ginia
Mary Zlabek librarian, Waterloo Courier
Among the persons kind enough to grant me interviews
were:
viii