by caappy » Wed May 22, 2019 7:26 pm
In 1944, Ironwood, Mich. native Harold Bray enlisted in the Navy as a senior in high school. He began attending boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill. in January, 1945 and got out on April 12– incidentally, the same day that President Franklin Roosevelt died. He was assigned to the USS Indianapolis, a cruiser which was being repaired at Mare Island at the time following a recent suicide bombing in Okinawa. Bray was assigned to the ship’s repair division.
In July, Seaman Second Class Bray was part of a crew of 1,197 people assigned to carry a briefcase to Tinian Island, the contents of which were unknown to passengers at the time. On its return voyage, the Indianapolis was shot by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. The ship sunk, leaving hundreds of men stranded in the Pacific. For five days, they had to deal with circling sharks and growing dehydration, with some men even resorting to drinking the salt water that surrounded them.
https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-ne ... s-sinking/
Sent him 2 photos on 5 Apr and got them back signed on 22 May.
Mr Harold Bray
400 Vista Ct.
Benicia, CA 94501
In 1944, Ironwood, Mich. native Harold Bray enlisted in the Navy as a senior in high school. He began attending boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill. in January, 1945 and got out on April 12– incidentally, the same day that President Franklin Roosevelt died. He was assigned to the USS Indianapolis, a cruiser which was being repaired at Mare Island at the time following a recent suicide bombing in Okinawa. Bray was assigned to the ship’s repair division.
In July, Seaman Second Class Bray was part of a crew of 1,197 people assigned to carry a briefcase to Tinian Island, the contents of which were unknown to passengers at the time. On its return voyage, the Indianapolis was shot by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. The ship sunk, leaving hundreds of men stranded in the Pacific. For five days, they had to deal with circling sharks and growing dehydration, with some men even resorting to drinking the salt water that surrounded them.
https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-ne ... s-sinking/
Sent him 2 photos on 5 Apr and got them back signed on 22 May.
Mr Harold Bray
400 Vista Ct.
Benicia, CA 94501
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