Seventy-two years after two torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine sank cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35), the ship's wreckage was found resting on the seafloor on Saturday – more than 18,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean's surface.
Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist, led a search team, assisted by historians from the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) in Washington, D.C., to accomplish what past searches had failed to do – find Indianapolis, considered the last great naval tragedy of World War II.
[...] On July 30, 1945, what turned out to be the final days of World War II, Indianapolis had just completed a secret mission to the island Tinian, delivering components of the atomic bomb "Little Boy" dropped on Hiroshima which would ultimately help end the war. The ship sunk in 12 minutes, before a distress signal could be sent or much of the life-saving equipment was deployed, according to a statement from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C. Because of the secrecy surrounding the mission, the ship wasn't listed as overdue
Around 800 of the ship's 1,196 sailors and Marines survived the sinking, but after four to five days in the water, suffering exposure, dehydration, drowning, and shark attacks, only 316 survived.
"I'm very happy that they found it. It's been a long 72 years coming," said a statement released by Indianapolis survivor Arthur Leenerman, 93 years-old from Mahomet, Ill. "I have wished for years that they would find it. The lost at sea families will feel pretty sad but I think finding the ship will also give them some closure. I'm glad that the search was successful. It will be interesting to see where it was found and how deep it was resting. "
The ship's story has become part folklore, thanks in large part to the chilling monologue in the 1975 film "Jaws" when fisherman Quint tells about being aboard Indianapolis when it was sunk.
Source: USNI News
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Paul Allen has died at age 65:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/15/paul-allen-co-founder-microsoft-dies
Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates, has died. He was 65.
Allen's company Vulcan said in a statement that he died Monday. Earlier this month Allen said the cancer he was treated for in 2009, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, had returned.
Allen, who was an avid sports fan, owned the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks.
Of course the article has more information. There was more to Paul Allen that just mentioned above. Bound to hit multiple sources with different takes so be on the lookout for something from a source you like.
takyon: Allen Institute bio and Vulcan Inc. statement.
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(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday August 21 2017, @06:52PM
I don't clearly recall but I think I read that in Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb".
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 21 2017, @07:18PM
Hey Paul Allen, why don't you go fly a hot air balloon around the world or do back flips in zero gravity like a self-respecting billionaire? You nauseating fucks shouldn't waltz around the planet acting like heros. Tell you what - if you want to be a hero, there's plenty of space on the front line in Syria. Why don't you hang out there "honoring the brave warriors" who are actually still alive by spending a couple years right next to them in the same fox hole. No? Don't fancy that much? Not enough "honor" for you I guess. Fuck off.
*vomit*
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 21 2017, @07:44PM (2 children)
Karma for the tens of thousands of children who were murdered by the weapon that they delivered?
N.B. Tibbets and Sweeney lived to a ripe old age, insisting that they had done the right thing.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 21 2017, @08:24PM
Can't be. We bombed that bitch Karma and the rest of her bloodthirsty sharpened mango wielding Watutsi pygmies back in 1890 at Mboto Gorge.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Tuesday August 22 2017, @03:47AM
Not sure if Karma works before the fact?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 21 2017, @07:58PM (4 children)
That's crap. Lots of top brass has said just that.
"Japan was already defeated and [...] dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary" [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [counterpunch.org]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 21 2017, @09:25PM (1 child)
Cxxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxxxxxx
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 22 2017, @12:24AM
Yup.
.
More top military guys who say nuking civilians by the tens of thousands wasn't necessary to end the war (Still only a partial listing):
American Military Leaders Urge[d] President Truman not to Drop the Atomic Bomb [colorado.edu]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Tuesday August 22 2017, @12:34AM (1 child)
Of course there is a huge debate on that item. Here are two things to take into account:
1. An invasion of the homeland islands was expected to be incredibly costly. Factoid: after WWII no more purple hearts were manufactured because so many were made in preparation for that campaign. The bombs may have been the shock and awe to have the defeated Japan actually surrender (very debatable, but logical)
2. The bombs purpose wasn't only to end the war, but prevent the next one. The Soviets out numbered the Western powers 2.5:1 in Europe, and the rivalry between the Allies was obvious. By dropping two bombs in succession the USA was giving an illusion of ease to produce nukes.
I'm not trying to support if the bombs were necessary, just some takeaway points I saw from the Peace Museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 22 2017, @02:23AM
1. An invasion of the homeland islands was expected to be incredibly costly
In the summer of 1945, Japan's home islands were completely isolated.
Nothing was allowed in or out: no men or materiel.
The Allies had things all bottled up.
The Japanese people were on starvation rations.
The civilians of the islands were told to do ridiculous things like sharpen bamboo poles.
If there was to be a slaughter, it would have been untrained civilians who got slaughtered.
Everybody knew that the war was over.
...except for the detail of USA.gov agreeing not to imprison or execute the emperor--the Japs' sole condition.
The USA dragged its feet on that so that it could demonstrate its monstrous weapons on cities (civilians in towns with no military value).
Any story you've heard other than that is propaganda.
I provided a link to a long list of top military men who knew the truth and have said so.
.
2. You omitted the word "hegemony".
You also failed to mention that until September 2, 1945, when the surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay, USSR was USA's ally.
Having built up an immense arms industry, and having that as a major part of its economy now, USA needed an excuse to continue building weapons and munitions.
USA.gov's aggression got cranked to 11 and it found a new enemy which, days before, had been an ally.
...and, again: "hegemony".
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by gawdonblue on Monday August 21 2017, @09:16PM (2 children)
Supertankers and massive container ships?
Very hard to spot.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 21 2017, @11:16PM
The navy must be waiting for the end of Waymo vs Uber to acquire some much-needed Lidar-based autonomous sailing ships.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 22 2017, @12:33AM
Ramming speed! [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday August 21 2017, @11:11PM
Crooked Hillary said it takes a village to raise a child. She's right, there was a crooked village, and it raised a crooked child. Raised Hillary. I'm saying, it takes a billionaire to raise a ship. Or, sometimes, even to find a ship. And it takes a billionaire to make America great again. 🇺🇸