Edgar Harrell

Edgar Harrell was one of the 317 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.

The Tennesean declares about Edgar Harrell:

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Cpl. Edgar Harrell floated in the shark-infested Pacific Ocean for four-and-a-half days. He swam aimlessly in the salt water — mixed heavily with black oil and blood — with a group of 80 other men who had jumped off the fiery USS Indianapolis after it has been torpedoed by the Japanese during the closing months of World War II. It was July 30, 1945, and it was 110 degrees. They had no water. Dehydration left their lips covered with sores and their tongues swollen. By the afternoon of the third day, the group dwindled to just 17 men. Shark fins and the torsos of those they had killed surrounded them. One would scream each time as they were pulled under, just for unrecognizable parts to bob back to the surface. Harrell prayed continually. Ultimately, Harrell was among the only 317 of the 1,196 men on board to survive, making the incident the single largest loss of life from a single ship in the U.S. Navy’s history.

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