| Her orders were to sail to Leyte Gulf - on the East Coast of the
Philippines, some 1,500 nautical miles West of Guam, and there to join with
the battleship Idaho, for several days of gunnery practice and refresher
training, (Many of Indy's crew, about 400, were 'green sailors' fresh
out of boot training). From Leyte, she was to rejoin the fleet off Okinawa
for the expected invasion of Japan. According to the "official record," a
single coded message was sent from Guam to Idaho advising her of
Indianapolis' orders. Reportedly, the radio message was "garbled"
at the receiving end. Idaho didn't ask for a repeat of the message.
Consequently, they didn't know Indianapolis was on her
way. |
