This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Michael Kohan (Mikey), ATCS
to remember
McVay, Charles Butler, III, RADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Ephrata, PA
Last Address Litchfield, CT
Date of Passing Nov 06, 1968
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
RADM McVay is mostly known for his service as the Commanding Officer of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). The USS Indianapolis received orders to carry parts and nuclear material to Tinian for use in the atomic bombs which were soon to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After delivering the top secret cargo, the ship was en route to report for further duty off Okinawa. Early in the morning of July 30, 1945, she was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-58 under Commander Mochitsura Hashimoto. Six torpedoes were launched and the Indianapolis was hit twice, the first removing over forty feet of her bow, the second hitting the starboard side at frame forty (below the bridge). The Indianapolis immediately took a fifteen degree list, capsized and sank within 12 minutes. Of the crew of 1,196 men, 879 men died.
Capt. McVay was court-martialed for failing to zigzag. The conviction effectively ended McVay's career as he lost seniority, although the sentence was overturned by Secretary James Forrestal owing to McVay's bravery prior to the sinking, and McVay was finally promoted to rear admiral when he retired from the navy in 1949.
He served 29 years. McVay took his own life by shooting himself with his service pistol at his home in Litchfield, Connecticut, holding in his hand a toy sailor he had received as a boy for a good luck charm.
In October 2000, the United States Congress passed a resolution that McVay's record should reflect that "he is exonerated for the loss of the USS Indianapolis." In July 2001, Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England ordered McVay's official Navy record purged of all wrongdoing.
Final disposition - Cremated, Ashes scattered at sea, Specifically: ashes scattered at Bayou Liberty near Slidell, LA.
Other Comments:
McVay's ship, but not McVay himself, is mentioned in the 1975 blockbuster movie Jaws, in which the character of Quint is portrayed as a survivor of the incident.
In 1978, the events surrounding McVay's court-martial were dramatized in The Failure to ZigZag by playwright John B. Ferzacca. The 1991 made-for-television movie Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis depicts the ordeal of the men of the Indianapolis during her last voyage (with McVay portrayed by Stacy Keach), as does the 2016 film USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (with McVay portrayed by Nicolas Cage). Also in 2016, USS Indianapolis: The Legacy was released. It is an in-depth film where the survivors tell the story of what really happened and they speak about the aftermath of the tragic event.
Kaweah was launched in 1919 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, under USSB account; acquired by the Navy 20 October 1921; and commissioned 28 December 1921, Lt. Comdr. O. Beuilagua, USNRF, in command.
After sea trials Kaweah departed New Orleans early January 1922 and arrived Philadelphia 18 January. She departed 14 March for a cruise to the Canal Zone and the Gulf of Mexico. She returned to Norfolk 7 May and decommissioned 15 August 1922.
Kaweah recommissioned 16 December 1940, Commander Charles B. McVay III, USN in command. From early 1941 until late fall, she made oil runs between ports on the East Coast and the Caribbean. She arrived NS Argentia, Newfoundland, 17 November for duty in the North Atlantic. For the next 14 months she operated between Iceland, Greenland, and Boston, supplying the fleet with gasoline and diesel oil. She departed New York 13 January 1943 with a cargo of diesel oil for Casablanca, returning New York 12 March. Kaweah made another round trip cruise to Casablanca in April before resuming fueling operations at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 26 June. For the remainder of 1943 she cruised in convoy between New England and Iceland supplying the fleet units with vital fuel.
For the duration of the war the oiler cruised along the North American coast, Greenland, and the Caribbean with aviation fuel and diesel oil. Throughout the war Kaweah remained almost constantly at sea on the important, never-ending duty of keeping the fleet supplied with petroleum products. Following the cessation of hostilities 14 August 1945, Kaweah arrived Hampton Roads, Va., 26 September and decommissioned at Norfolk 16 November 1945. She was transferred to the WSA 28 May 1946 and sold to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, for scrapping.
