The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Atomic Bomb: The Price Paid For Liberty

"The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Atomic Bomb: The Price Paid For Liberty" tells the story of the USS Indianapolis. After delivering key components of the atomic bomb, destined to be dropped on Hiroshima, the Indianapolis is sunk by a Japanese submarine on its return trip to the Island of Leyte in the Philippines.  Hit by two torpedoes, the ship sunk in 12 minutes.  Of the 1195 men aboard ship, estimates are 300 men went down with the ship.  The tragedy deepens when due to communication foul ups, no one in the US Navy knows the ship has been sunk. These men would spend 5 nights and 4 days in the ocean, battling burns, injuries, dehydration, sharks and insanity while floating helplessly in the Philippine sea.  Miraculously, after 4 days in the water the men of the Indianapolis were accidentally discovered by a passing Navy plane and a rescue was begun.  Of the 1195 men aboard ship, 879 crew members would die in the water.  Only 316 men would survive.  In years past, four of these survivors, Ed Harrell, Paul Murphy, Lyle Pasket, and Erwin Hensch, were interviewed for this program.  Now, the voices of these brave men, though they have all passed on, are brought to life.  These survivors share unforgettable and heartbreaking memories about the tragic sinking of their battle tested ship and their struggle to survive against nearly impossible odds.  We hear their story of tragedy, survival, heroism and redemption — all part of the enormous cost of liberty.