Cleatus Lebow
Mr. Cleatus Lebow is one the few survivors of the USS Indianapolis disaster. Mr. Lebow is very outspoken about the tragedy and has written a few documents over it. He joined the crew of the Indianapolis in Jan. 1944. He was on the Indianapolis for eight of the ship's ten battles. He now lives in Memphis, TX, and seems to be a very nice man.
Q: When did you join the Navy?
A: I joined the Navy in Feb. 1943.
Q: When did you join the crew of the Indianapolis?
A: I joined the crew of the Indianapolis in Jan. of 1944.
Q: What was your duty aboard the Indianapolis?
A: I was the range finder, so I would look through the most powerful binoculars that one can get and determine where the shot needed to be fired. When I was at Iwo Jima I saw the flag going up like in the picture through my scope.
Q: What was the daily life like for a member of the Indianapolis?
A: You would stand watch for anywhere from two to four hours. Also, we would fire the equipment to check it and all the usual stuff.
Q: What was it like watching the Japanese Kamakazee fly towards the ship?
A: We were at Okinawa when the Kamakazee came. It was carrying two 500 lbs. bombs and one went through the ship. We had to have underwater welders fix that.
Q: What suspicions were there over the contents of the mystery box?
A: Some thought it was a car for MacArthur, others that it was scented toilet paper for the officers, and people thought it was champagne for the victory celebration.
Q: Where and when did you see your first combat?
A: That would be at the Gilbert Is. in Jan. 1944.
Q: Did anyone aboard the ship find it odd that the ship was traveling so fast?
A: Not really. We knew the ship was going fast, but no one commented. However, the ship was shaking while we were going that fast.
Q: What happened on the night the Indianapolis sunk?
A: I went to get two cups of lemonade and then went to sleep. the torpedo hit at around midnight and woke up and saw people really hurtin' from the blast. We passed out the life jackets and then went to get the life boats. I saw that we were never going to get many off of the ship so I jumped into the water. They did manage to get four life boats off the ship. I found a loading net. We had 130 people who found the loading net. I sat in the net and watched people die. The sharks were bad, you could see them under the net, but they would only attack those who had straggled from the group. Then five days later the plane came.
Q: How much do you believe that your faith pulled you through the ordeal?
A: When I was in the water I thought of Jesus and was completely calm. I had been home for leave and me and my mom had a conversation about how we had a bad feeling about the ship. She said that she wished she could go with, but she knew someone who would be going with me where ever I went.
Q: What was it like when you saw the plane and having to wait for the rescue?
A: We were happy as can be when we saw the plane. Some other planes had flown by and we would shake our fists at them like they could see us. When the plane did finally land we had to tie 56 men to the wings with parachute string.