USS Indianapolis Survivor Passes Away
By Arnab, Gaea News NetworkTuesday, March 16, 2010
JACKSONVILLE (GaeaTimes.com)- William Hafford Sharp, a survivor of the famous US Navy ship USS Indianapolis passed away on Sunday. He was 83 years old. The ship that was attacked by the Japanese Navy in 1945 and sank after being hit by Torpedoes is remembered in the history of the nation till date. The daughter of the war veteran, Molly Jenkins, said that her father passed away after he sustained head injury after falling in the house. The ship went down water on July 30, 1945. The ship had a crew of 1196 and most of them died after floating in the sea for two days. The Navy officials were unaware of the surviving crew members while they clung to their life without food amidst sharks.
William Hafford Sharp was among the 316 sailors who survived the ordeal and got rescued by the navy. In 2008, Mr. William Hafford Sharp said in an interview given to The Florida Times-Union that he could have died like most of his mates and he started hallucinating after spending two days in pacific water. The danger of a shark attack was imminent and many of his friends from USS Indianapolis were either drowned or got attacked by sea creatures. Luckily, a Navy seaplane picked him from the water but it was so packed that he had to be tied to its wing. The incident was depicted later in the cult movie ‘Jaws’.
After the war ended, he left the navy and for the rest of his life worked in various types of jobs. USS Indianapolis survivor William Hafford Sharp is survived by his daughters, a son and wife Faye Sharp.
