USS Indianapolis Discovered 18,000 Feet Below Pacific Surface By Microsoft Co-Founder, Paul Allen

Most of the ship’s 1,196 sailors and Marines survived the sinking only to succumb to exposure, dehydration and drowning after four to five days. Only 316 survived, 22 of whom are alive today.

“Even in the worst defeats and disasters there is valor and sacrifice that deserves to never be forgotten,” Sam Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, said. “They can serve as an inspiration to current and future sailors enduring situations of mortal peril. There are also lessons learned, and in the case of the Indianapolis, lessons re-learned, that need to be preserved and passed on, so the same mistakes can be prevented, and lives saved.”