USS Indianapolis and Gyros

 76 years ago today my FIL Mel Jacob was sleeping on the deck of the USS Indianapolis. He had switched places with a fellow Marine as it was over 110 down below decks.  The Indy was the flagship of the Pacific fleet, meaning it was the #1 most important ship in the Pacific.  

A torpedo from a japanese sub blew off the front of the Indy which continued to plow forward scooping up water into the ship. The Commander, Charles McVay had been assured there were no subs in the area even though a number of ships had contacted headquarters that they believed there was a rogue sub  in that quadrant.

The Indy went down in minutes and even though and SOS was sent AND received by other ships the Navy told them it was fake news and do not fall of it.  

For five days 800+ of the 2000+ sailors that made it off the ship literally swam in the ocean thinking they were about to be saved but the Navy said no - all is well, nobody could sink the Indy.   Of those 800 only 300+ survived the sharks and it was only a true literal miracle any were rescued at all.  

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When I was at a Madison Muskie game that was honoring veterans Mel was one of the honorees. We were sitting in the stands and a veteran of WWII, a navy dude, comes up and shook Mels hand.  He said MANY in the Navy yard KNEW something was wrong with the Indy.  He had tears in his eyes as he talked about how his fellow sailors were certain the Indy was not in radio silence as the Navy said she was.  The KNEW something was wrong. 

He had tears and I still have tears when I type this.  The Navy had a HUGE cover up of their ineptness. 

If you really want to read a fascinating book about the Indy pick up  In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors    It's a fast read you can't put down.  

Commander, Charles McVay was the only Commander in WWII to be court martialed in a kangaroo court for following directions.  They even had the Japanese sub commander there and he said there was nothing McVay could have done, it was pure luck the sub spotted the Indy. They threw out his testimony and deleted it from the record.  McVay committed suicide when he found hundreds of hate mails his late wife had been hiding.  

I have met the family of the sub commander and the survivors are great friends with the family of the sub commander as he spoke the truth.  

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Gyros - would you believe I had never ever had one until yesterday?  Not that I did not want one but I had never had the opportunity. Nobody ever said "Hey let's go get gyro".   

So yesterday DJ and I went the Athens Restaurant in Westport - WOW - do they have a unique variety of beers - but I digress. 

My opinion?  Yea - they are . . .fine.  Loved the flavor but my brain just couldn't get past lamb, the little baby lambs that gave their lives.  Seriously.  And I'm a carnivore through and through.  If it was all beef, no issues but little baby lambs??  It might as well had been a puppy in a cup! 

But I did love the flavor and they had some of the best fries I have had for a while (Chick-fil-A and Portelos have GREAT fries).  SO - I will gave Gyros again but it's not my go to. 

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Great weather coming up!