Last week in Indianapolis, the survivors of the USS INDIANAPOLIS sinking held their annual reunion. The INDY was sunk on July 30th, 1945 after delivering the parts to the bombs that would decimate Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most everyone is familiar with the immense human tragedy following the sinking, but for those who are not: http://www.ussindianapolis.org/
Those of you who follow my blog (9/10/2017) also know that Paul Allen’s research vessel RV PETREL located the wreck of the INDY last summer on August 19th of 2017. Paul Mayer, a member of the PETREL crew and a wonderful new friend was invited to give a presentation to the group on the methods used to locate the wreck. Greg and I first met Paul in May when we drove to Chattanooga for a face to face chat. He and his beautiful wife Rosie drove up from Tennessee to Indianapolis, and on the way back stopped by our home in Lexington to visit and have lunch. Very convenient being right off I-75 on their way home, and it was great to see them again. Paul showed me the photos Rosie had taken of him on stage and sharing handshakes and photo ops with all the folks who congratulated him on the find and on the amazing presentation. We talked about his visit with the group and of course Greg and I both peppered him with more questions about the PETREL and the work ahead for the rest of 2018. Lunch was at a quaint little place down the road, Windy Corner Market. They had to get back on the road soon after, as Paul had a 6:00 am flight on Monday morning headed to Okinawa to meet up with the ship. They have work in the area over the next few weeks, then hopefully some more time stateside. Winter will be the time for heading back to the South Pacific.
Once Paul gets situated on PETREL, I hope to have him send me a few of the shots from his event with the INDY group to share. He was very touched by the response from the men and their families, and by the sharing of their personal stories. Soon, I hope there will be more Facebook posts from PETREL about their adventures to share with you, and I will keep everyone posted on when they head back toward the Solomons. Their mission is to locate two aircraft carriers lost in WW2, and then hope to fit another sweep of the Kula Gulf in hitting the areas they missed before. It would be nice to lay the nearly completed plaque in the 75th year of the sinking, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In the meantime, there are plenty of other stories to investigate.
I hope to have the plaque soon and will share photos of the completed project. Very excited!
Tammi
Those of you who follow my blog (9/10/2017) also know that Paul Allen’s research vessel RV PETREL located the wreck of the INDY last summer on August 19th of 2017. Paul Mayer, a member of the PETREL crew and a wonderful new friend was invited to give a presentation to the group on the methods used to locate the wreck. Greg and I first met Paul in May when we drove to Chattanooga for a face to face chat. He and his beautiful wife Rosie drove up from Tennessee to Indianapolis, and on the way back stopped by our home in Lexington to visit and have lunch. Very convenient being right off I-75 on their way home, and it was great to see them again. Paul showed me the photos Rosie had taken of him on stage and sharing handshakes and photo ops with all the folks who congratulated him on the find and on the amazing presentation. We talked about his visit with the group and of course Greg and I both peppered him with more questions about the PETREL and the work ahead for the rest of 2018. Lunch was at a quaint little place down the road, Windy Corner Market. They had to get back on the road soon after, as Paul had a 6:00 am flight on Monday morning headed to Okinawa to meet up with the ship. They have work in the area over the next few weeks, then hopefully some more time stateside. Winter will be the time for heading back to the South Pacific.
Once Paul gets situated on PETREL, I hope to have him send me a few of the shots from his event with the INDY group to share. He was very touched by the response from the men and their families, and by the sharing of their personal stories. Soon, I hope there will be more Facebook posts from PETREL about their adventures to share with you, and I will keep everyone posted on when they head back toward the Solomons. Their mission is to locate two aircraft carriers lost in WW2, and then hope to fit another sweep of the Kula Gulf in hitting the areas they missed before. It would be nice to lay the nearly completed plaque in the 75th year of the sinking, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In the meantime, there are plenty of other stories to investigate.
I hope to have the plaque soon and will share photos of the completed project. Very excited!
Tammi
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