All Fins On, LLC

By Robert Cantrell

Your ship was grand, from stem to stern, your buddy had your back,
no one knew your fates in store the night of the attack.
Twin blasts and fires and hollers, she leaned to starboard fast,
her stern rose high to the moonlit sky before twelve minutes had passed.
Swells rose and fell, oil and fumes, together you prayed and heaved,
but the worse was through, for you and the crew, there’d be ships coming soon you believed.

A welcomed sun arose but left you parched in briny waves,
your flesh and bone drew sharks of war that night and the coming days.
Bewildered screams, they echo now, from dying mates at sea,
you never gave up, though you thought to yourself, all the dead, that will soon be me.
Then overhead, twin rotaries fired, by the fifth day you were saved,
but silence on your buddy seared your soul.

The Navy called for silence from its sailors and marines,
forget about your sunken ship, forget about the screams.
Smile gently to your sweetheart, provide for your wife,
go home and raise a family and live a normal life.
But every hour of daylight brings you closer to the night,
when screams return with vengeance, along with horrid sights.
And wake, you will, and face the day as you have always done,
you’ll thank the Lord you walk this earth and strive to have some fun.
Still, on your mind will always be that buddy at your back,
he’d put his arms around you, friend, and he would cut you slack.

Our oceanic whitetip night dive began ten years ago tonight, June 1, 2011. The frame attached shows a moment before the dive. The words below reflect the end.

"A sense of well-being washed over me, a primeval high, attuned as I was to the moment. I wanted to stay in that moment forever."

Tonight will be a Webinar about the USS Indianapolis that includes survivor Richard Thelen, family members of other survivors, and noted authorities on the topic. I had the honor to assemble the visuals that frame the narrative and to draft the program description at the link below.

NEVER GIVE UP - WEBINAR SERIES | indy Never give up! These three words embody the spirit of surviving sailors and marines who served aboard the cruiser USS Indianapolis when she was torpedoed by the crew of a Japanese submarine near the end of World War II. Twin blasts sent the distinguished warship to the bottom in twelve minutes, leav...

Member of the education committee for the USS Indianapolis Legacy Organization. Great group of people. The aim is to keep the story alive and accurate.

A face in the darkness. Great to visit last week.

Folding an American flag raised over the USS Indianapolis memorial for the family of a crewmember. I came into this story in 2011 as a "shark guy" who had a military background. In getting to know the families and remaining survivors, however, sharks rarely come up in discussion--though they do come up. Sharks are a part of the story. Their presence is engraved in stone on the memorial in the background of this photograph, on the base beneath the granite bearing names of the crew. But the story is and always has been a military story.

Family members--mostly--from survivors of the USS Indianapolis tragedy. Add the mayor of Indianapolis, Indianapolis book authors, Julia, and one veteran who, 74 years ago tonight, was on his third night adrift in the Philippine Sea.

Fun with The Chicago Manual of Style--editing the notes section.

Wednesday I approved the pitch letter to be sent to publishers for Sharks of War the book. I have been working with my agent at Trident Media Group for two and a half years on this project. Lots of 4:00 a.m. mornings writing, editing, and researching before my official workday began. Grateful we did not go to market too early. Now it's wait and see.

2018 dawns and things have never looked better for both the film and literary side of the story. Discussions back and forth on both. I have a promise to keep. Photo of Richard Thelen from a talk he gave about his survival story last November.

Ashburn TEDx talk "Never Give Up: A Lesson from a USS Indianapolis Survivor." A short story about chance, never giving up, and reinvention where the term "swimming with sharks" isn't metaphorical.

Never Give Up: A Lesson from a USS Indianapolis Survivor | Robert Cantrell | TEDxAshburnSalon As a Producer/Director that chronicled many adventures in life from really swimming and filming the most dangerous Shark in the world at night without a cage...