This page is dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Paul Dollins, a Radioman 2nd Class (RM2) on board the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) in WWII. Paul, along with 879 of his shipmates, did not survive the sinking of the Indianapolis. On the night of July 29, 1945, the ship was enroute to the Leyte Gulf after secretly delivering the components of the Atomic Bomb, that was dropped on Hiroshima, to the American forces on Tinian Island. Just after midnight, she was struck by two torpedoes fired from the Japanese submarine "I-58", commanded by Mochitsura Hashimoto, and sank in just 12 minutes. Four days later, only 316 survivors, from the 1,195 ship's crew, were rescued after being accidentally spotted by a Navy patrol plane.

USS Indianapolis
(CA-35)

Memorial to Paul Dollins RM2
"Lost but not Forgotten"

Lovettsville, VA Memorial Circle - RIP Paul Dollins

Lovettsville, VA: A memorial paver dedicated to Paul Dollins on November 11, 2015

Ode to the Men of the Indy

Paul Dollins RM2
Dec 12, 1923 - July 30,1945

Paul and John Dollins

(L-R) My Uncle Paul and his big brother, my Father, TSgt John Dollins, before Paul reported aboard the USS Indianapolis

"MISSING - THE USS INDIANAPOLIS"

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Click on the image below to reach the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization's official website.
Here you can read the story of the USS Indianapolis and her crew, which is one of the great human tragedies in the history of the U.S. Navy.

USS Indianapolis Challenge Coin courtesy USS Indianapolis Second Watch Organization

The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) War Memorial

From The USS Indianapolis (CA-35) War Memorial
The story of ship's Sinking and rescue

The world's first operational atomic bomb was delivered by the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) to the Island of Tinian on July 26, 1945. The Indianapolis then reported to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC) headquarters at Guam for further orders. She was directed to join the battleship USS Idaho (BB-42) at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan.

The Indianapolis, unescorted, departed Guam on a course of 262º, making about 17 knots. At 14 minutes past midnight on July 30, 1945, midway between Guam and Leyte Gulf, she was hit by two of six torpedos fired at her by the Japanese submarine I-58. The first blew away the bow, the second struck near midship on the starboard side, adjacent to a fuel tank and a powder magazine. The resulting explosion split the ship to the keel, knocking out all electrical power. Within minutes, she went down rapidly by the bow, rolling to starboard.

Of the 1,196 aboard, about 900 made it into the water in the 12 minutes before she sank. Few bulkhead-mounted life rafts released. Most survivors wore the standard kapok life jacket. Shark attacks began with Sunrise of the first day and continued until the men were physically removed from the water, almost five days after the ship sank.

Shortly after 11:00AM of the fourth day, the survivors were accidentlally discovered by Lt(JG) Wilber C. Gwinn piloting his PV-1 Ventura bomber on a routine anti-submarine patrol. Radioing his base at Peleilu, he alerted "Many Men in the Water." A PBY (seaplane), under the command of Lt R. Adrian Marks, was dispatched to lend assistance and report. Enroute to the scene, Marks overflew the destroyer USS Doyle (DD-368) and alerted her captain of the emergency. The captain of the Doyle, under his own authority, decided to divert to the scene.

Arriving hours ahead of the Doyle, the crew of the PBY began dropping rubber rafts and supplies. While so engaged, they observed men being attacked by sharks. Disregarding standing orders not to land at sea, Marks landed his PBY and began taxiing to pick up the stragglers and lone swimmers who were at greatest risk of shark attack. Learning the men were the crew of the Indianopolis, he radioed the news and requested immediate assistance.

The Doyle responded she was unroute and as complete darkness fell, Marks waited for help to arrive, all the while continuing to seek out and pull nearly dead men from the water. When the plane's fuselage was full, survivors were tied to the wings with parachute cord. Marks and his crew rescued 56 men that day.

The USS Doyle was the first vessel on the scene, homing in on Marks' PBY in total darkness. The Doyle halted to avoid killing or further injuring survivors and began taking Marks' survivors aboard. Disregarding the safety of his own vessel, the Doyle's captain pointed his largest searchlight into the night sky to serve as a beacon for other rescue vessels.This beacon was the first indication to most survivors that their prayers had been answered. Help had at last arrived.

Of the estimated 900 who made it into the water, only 317 remained alive. After almost five days of constant shark attacks, starvation, terrible thirst, suffering from exposure and their wounds, the men of the Indianapolis were at last rescued from the sea.

"Brick of Honor" at Indianapolis Soldiers and Sailors Monument

Congressional Gold Medal, issued 7/30/2020
in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the sinking of the Indianapolis.

This Portion of the "Final Crew" list courtesy of Official USS Indianapolis Website

This is an October 12, 1944 photograph of the then members of the "Radio Gang" taken on the deck of the USS Indianopolis.
My Uncle Paul is standing in the third row back (see red circle) with the large life raft behind him.
Click here to see all the names of these sailors or move your cursor over their faces for their name, rate and home state.
Note: The "(*)" next to a sailor's name indicates he survived the sinking.

Photo courtesy USS Indianapolis Survivors Org Website

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Photo courtesy of Larry Johnson

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This is the first telegram my father, John J. Dollins, received on August 12, 1945, about his younger brother Paul being listed as MIA since the sinking of the Indianapolis on July 30, 1945.

This is the second telegram my father received on September 17, 1945 confirming that his younger brother Paul did not survive the sinking of the Indianapolis

The letter of condolence Capt McVay, the CO of the USS Indianapolis, sent to my father on September 27, 1945.

September 1945 Glendale Press Newspaper article about Paul Dollins not surviving the sinking of the Indianapolis.

The certificate accompanying the Purple Heart awarded posthumously to my uncle on February 25, 1946.

November 1945 Glendale Press Newspaper article about the pending Court-Martial of Capt. McVay. Note the irony that just minutes before President Truman announced Japan's surrender, the Navy "officially" announced the sinking of the Indianapolis.

Newspaper Article about Capt McVay's Court Martial

"LIVE FROM THE DEEP" PBS Broadcast
(The Final Resting Spot)

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USS Indianapolis(CA-35)

Memorial to Paul Dollins RM2 "Lost but not Forgotten"

USS Indianapolis
(CA-35)

Memorial to Paul Dollins RM2
"Lost but not Forgotten"