LYNNWOOD – When Eugene Morgan dies, the World War II veteran wants his body cremated and his ashes scattered in the Philippines Sea.
He wants to be reunited with the crew he left behind on that horrific night more than 60 years ago.
“I want to join my shipmates,” he said. “I had a lot of good friends in there.”
Morgan, a retired Seattle firefighter, shared his story earlier this week with students in a combined English and history class at Scriber Lake High School, an alternative school in Lynnwood.
Morgan, 86, was one of 317 members of the nearly 1,200-member crew aboard the USS Indianapolis to survive the worst at-sea loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy.
The Indianapolis, which had earlier delivered the atomic bomb to Tinian Island in the western Pacific Ocean, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine shortly after midnight on July 30, 1945. It sank within 12 minutes. The impact knocked Morgan from his cot before he was forced into the sea.
About 300 crew members went down with the ship, and the rest were left floating in shark-infested waters, their whereabouts unknown and with no means of communication. There were a few life rafts, but most survivors merely had life jackets.
For five days, Morgan floated in the sea, watching his buddies die from injuries, burns, and exhaustion and hearing their screams when sharks pulled them underwater. Some hallucinated before their deaths; others simply lost hope, shed their life jackets and swam away.
“Where we were sunk was no man’s land,” Morgan said. “It seemed like everything was against us.”
On Aug. 2, they were spotted by pilots on routine patrol and rescuers were dispatched.
Morgan finally was pulled out, his eyes bleary, skin burned and his mouth cotton dry. His dehydrated body covered with saltwater ulcers.
The Scriber Lake students recently read Doug Stanton’s “In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors.”
Morgan, a lanky and spry octogenarian, gave the written words a more vivid perspective.
Casey McCoy, 16, a junior, liked the book but was eager to get a firsthand account.
“It’s good to hear their point of view while they are still around,” he said. “They were the ones who were actually there.”
Morgan argues the Indianapolis should have had a destroyer escort and been told that Japanese submarines were known to be in the region.
In recent years, the circumstances of the Indianapolis sinking have come under new scrutiny from historians and Congress.
Morgan hopes it salvages the reputation of Capt. Charles McVay III, commander of the Indianapolis when it was sunk. McVay was court-martialed for “hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag.”
In October 2000, Congress passed and President Clinton signed a resolution exonerating McVay, but Morgan said the court-martial has not been erased.
In a discussion with the students, Morgan defended the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as “the best thing Truman did,” arguing that it ultimately saved millions of lives by ending the war sooner.
He told them he has done his duty for his country and it is their turn now, whether as a teacher, firefighter, police officer, soldier or some other career that serves society.
“Anytime you see a veteran, go up to him and shake his hand for what he did,” he said.
The class, taught by English teacher Marjie Bowker and social studies teacher Jeff Keeley, explored issues surrounding war and peace. Along the way, it covered World War I, World War II and the Russian Revolution and used texts such as “Animal Farm” and “The Grapes of Wrath.”
“In Harm’s Way” had an impact on the students, Bowker said.
And so did Morgan’s visit.
“I could just see it in his face that he can still hear the screams,” said Justine Davies, 16, a sophomore. “I can’t believe that someone went through this.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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