USS Indianapolis survivor, executive Posted on July 22nd
Herbert Jay “Jack” Miner II was 19 and had been a radio technician aboard the USS Indianapolis for just 13 days when the cruiser was hit by Japanese torpedoes and sunk.
Floating in the South Pacific for four days, Mr. Miner was one of 317 men, out of a crew of nearly 1,200, to survive the ordeal. It was the worst single loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy, with many of the men surviving the attack only to die of exposure, dehydration and shark attacks.
A longtime Chicago paper company executive, Mr. Miner, 82, died of congestive heart failure on Saturday, July 12, at his home in Lake Forest, said his daughter Nancy Guenther.
The story of the Indianapolis is well-chronicled in books and film, while Mr. Miner’s own tale, which he later told to his family, school groups and writers, had its own unique twists.
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