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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Edgar Harrel declared:

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You see maybe a body on an eight foot swell. And all of the sudden that swell breaks and that body comes down and he he hits you and he leaves that residue on you. And you see that and say, "Is that going to be me tomorrow or yet today?". And see you look up. And may I say, "There is no such thing as atheists in foxholes . There were no atheists out there." Everyone prayed. I can hear one of those sailors praying today, "God if you are out there. I don't want to die. I have a son back home that I have never seen. I want to live, but we have to have help." So we prayed and we prayed and we continued to pray. So the lesson that I have learned is I know that there was a higher power looking over me or I wouldn't be here today. And there is not a single day that I don't thank my heavenly Father for sending that Plane #1.

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