On this episode of Our American Stories, Millions of Americans first learned about the tragic fate of the USS Indianapolis from Quint's famous monologue in Spielberg's 1975 classic, Jaws. While the film certainly took some liberties with her story, one part remained sadly true. After the war, Captain Charles B. McVay III, a decorated and experienced combat veteran, was court-martialed for failing to zigzag and spent the rest of his life carrying the blame for one of the worst naval disasters in American history. He eventually took his own life in 1968 at the age of 70, his legacy nearly forgotten.
Decades later, Navy officer Bill Toti found himself inheriting a rather interesting legacy of his own, also becoming the final captain of the USS Indianapolis. That is to say, the submarine bearing the same name as the infamous WWII cruiser. When survivors of the World War II cruiser asked him to help clear Captain McVay’s name, Toti used modern torpedo modeling to test the Navy’s case against him. What he found helped fuel the long fight that finally led Congress to exonerate McVay. Captain Toti's book is From CO to CEO, be sure to check it out.
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