Documents reveal sea burials for 13 USS Indianapolis sailors

By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — The Navy says newly analyzed documents show 13 World War II sailors previously believed to have been unaccounted for after a Japanese submarine torpedoed their ship were actually buried at sea. The sailors were from the USS Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes on July 30, 1945. More than 800 were killed, many by sharks. Just 316 survived. Researchers found the names of the 13 sailors newly discovered to have been buried at sea in deck logs, commanders’ reports and war diaries kept by the seven ships that recovered bodies. Retired naval historian Rick Stone suspects the names fell through bureaucratic cracks and were never followed up on.