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00:00Exactly 60 years ago last week, on the last days of World War II,
00:15U.S. forces relentlessly pounded mainland Japan from both the sea and the skies.
00:21While meeting with Allied leaders in Germany,
00:24President Truman decided that he is prepared to use an atomic bomb against Japan.
00:30And in the U.S., a B-25 accidentally crashed into the Empire State Building,
00:35unleashing a wave of panic on the streets of New York City.
00:40Exactly 60 years ago this week, the Potsdam Conference ends
00:43as Stalin is poised to tighten his steely grip over Eastern Europe.
00:48In the Pacific, U.S. bombers own the skies over Japan
00:52and continue their merciless barrage over the mainland.
00:56And after fulfilling a top-secret mission,
00:58the USS Indianapolis is lost,
01:01a disaster that would go down in U.S. naval history
01:04as the war's most horrific tragedy at sea.
01:07July 29th, the Pacific Ocean, 9.30 a.m.
01:10July 29th, the Pacific Ocean, 9.30 a.m.
01:17July 29th, the Pacific Ocean, 9.30 a.m.
01:35After dropping off vital components
01:38for one of the highly classified atomic bombs
01:41under construction on Tinian Island,
01:44this very day, the USS Indianapolis
01:47is sailing for the island of Leyte in the Philippines.
01:52The heavy cruiser's top-secret cargo
01:54had been loaded in San Francisco on July 16th.
01:57Not even the ship's captain, Charles B. McVeigh,
02:01knew what was on board.
02:05From Tinian, the Indianapolis headed for Guam
02:08to replenish ammunition, supplies, and fuel.
02:14Having set sail just 24 hours ago,
02:17McVeigh's orders are to continue on to Okinawa
02:20after a two-week stay in Leyte.
02:22Exactly 60 years ago this very day,
02:26the crew of the Indianapolis
02:27is on the 1,200-mile voyage to the Philippines.
02:31The straight-line route from Guam to Leyte
02:34is codenamed Petty.
02:36It is as treacherous as it is long.
02:41Along the way, the Indianapolis would have to run
02:44the gauntlet of patrolling Japanese submarines.
02:49Only a few days earlier,
02:51the destroyer USS Underhill
02:53had been attacked and sunk
02:54by an enemy sub in the area.
02:59McVeigh received a general warning
03:00about Japanese submarines,
03:02but surprisingly,
03:04was never told about the incident.
03:07Knowing the Indianapolis was not equipped
03:09with any submarine detector devices,
03:11McVeigh asked for an escort from Guam to Leyte.
03:16That request was denied.
03:18There were no ships to spare.
03:21McVeigh will have to rely on defensive measures,
03:24like sailing in a zigzag pattern,
03:26a standard evasive tactic
03:28to make the ship more difficult to target.
03:32This week, the USS Indianapolis is on her own.
03:41Designated a Portland-class heavy cruiser,
03:47the Indianapolis went into service in November 1932,
03:50and in the years leading up to the war,
03:53had been used as a ship of state,
03:55most notably by President Roosevelt.
03:58Following the attack on Pearl Harbor,
04:01the Indianapolis moved to the Pacific,
04:03becoming the flagship
04:04of Admiral Raymond Spruance's Fifth Fleet.
04:06The ship took part in various actions,
04:11including the destruction of the Japanese base
04:13at Truk in the Carolines,
04:15the landings on Iwo Jima,
04:17and the invasion of Okinawa.
04:20At the end of March 1945,
04:23the Indianapolis was badly damaged,
04:26a casualty of a kamikaze attack off Okinawa.
04:31The ship was sent back to San Francisco for repairs.
04:34There, Captain McVeigh received his orders
04:37for a top-secret delivery to Tinian Island.
04:41On July 16, 1945,
04:43armed with a crew of 1,196 men
04:46and nine eight-inch guns,
04:48the 610-foot-long cruiser,
04:51capable of more than 30 knots,
04:52embarked on a mission
04:53that would alter the course of history.
05:00This week, as the Indianapolis sails for Lady,
05:03Captain McVeigh expects the voyage
05:05to take three days.
05:07But due to missed signals
05:09and errors in communication,
05:11the ill-fated mission
05:12will haunt the U.S. Navy for decades.
05:15July 29, 8 p.m.
05:19A storm is brewing.
05:21As night falls,
05:22there is only intermittent moonlight.
05:25As the ship sails
05:26under a cloak of darkness,
05:28McVeigh gives the order
05:29to stop zigzagging
05:30and to steer a straight course
05:32at 17 knots
05:33through the heavy seas.
05:36It was an order he would regret
05:37for the rest of his life.
05:39I had the 8 to midnight watch.
05:42The clouds were covering the moon,
05:45pretty much so,
05:46and
05:47he could not see
05:50the bow of the ship
05:51from the bridge.
05:52So he told the officer
05:54of the deck
05:55to cease zigzagging.
05:57In other words,
05:58we could go on a straight line
06:00and that if there was any changes
06:02to call him.
06:04McVeigh and his commanders
06:05are focused on the Indianapolis
06:07reaching Lady
06:07and getting back into the war.
06:11The ship is now sailing
06:12where the direct routes
06:13among Guam,
06:14Lady,
06:15Talaloo,
06:16and Okinawa intersect.
06:1711 p.m.
06:23Hot and tired,
06:25McVeigh retires
06:26to his cabin
06:26for a short break.
06:28Even though it's night,
06:30temperatures are hitting
06:30the mid-80s.
06:32Rather than swelter
06:33in their bunks,
06:34about 300 crewmen
06:35have chosen
06:36to sleep on deck.
06:4012 miles away,
06:42a Japanese submarine
06:43begins to rise slowly
06:44from a depth
06:45of 60 feet.
06:47It's the Japanese I-58,
06:51a 356-foot B-3
06:53class submarine
06:54armed with 19
06:55conventional torpedoes
06:57and six Cayetans,
06:5948-foot metal tubes
07:00tipped with magnetic warheads
07:02which are driven
07:03by suicide pilots.
07:07The I-58
07:08has spent the last week
07:09patrolling the seas
07:10between the Marianas
07:11and the Philippines.
07:14Today,
07:14after being submerged
07:16for hours,
07:17the sub's captain,
07:18Mochitsura Hashimoto,
07:20has decided
07:21to investigate activity
07:22on the surface.
07:25Hashimoto is deeply
07:26frustrated.
07:27Since leaving
07:28the Kure Naval Base
07:29in Japan
07:29on July 16th,
07:31the same day
07:32that the Indianapolis
07:33set sail
07:33from San Francisco,
07:34he has yet to find
07:36a large target.
07:39In fact,
07:39in his four years
07:40at sea,
07:41Hashimoto has yet
07:42to sink even one.
07:46Reaching periscope depth,
07:48he scans the horizon
07:49but sees nothing.
07:53Before long,
07:54Hashimoto's sub
07:55breaks the surface
07:56and moves steadily forward.
07:59Suddenly,
08:00one of the crewmen
08:00aboard the I-58
08:01makes a startling discovery.
08:03About 10 minutes
08:06to midnight,
08:07the captain
08:07of that submarine
08:08and a couple
08:09of his officers
08:10were looking
08:11through binoculars
08:12and they saw
08:13a small dot
08:14approaching them
08:16on the horizon.
08:18Hashimoto
08:19orders the I-58
08:20to dive immediately
08:21and move stealthily
08:22ahead at three knots.
08:23Ten minutes later,
08:27the sub reaches
08:28periscope depth
08:29once again.
08:31All they did
08:32was submerge
08:34and wait for us
08:36to pass.
08:37After he submerged
08:38and as we got closer,
08:40he turned his periscope
08:41360 degrees
08:43and saw that
08:44we were unescorted.
08:47Hashimoto orders
08:48six torpedoes
08:49to be armed.
08:50Two Kaiitan suicide pilots
08:52are also told
08:53to stand by.
08:55By this time,
08:57Hashimoto
08:57has identified
08:58his target
08:58as a large U.S. warship,
09:00although he is unsure
09:01of its class.
09:04The Indianapolis,
09:05maintaining its course
09:06and speed,
09:07is unaware
09:07of the approaching
09:08enemy sub.
09:12July 30th,
09:1412.14 a.m.
09:16Hashimoto fires
09:18his torpedoes
09:18at three-second intervals.
09:21Less than one minute later,
09:23the first torpedo
09:24hits the starboard bow.
09:27A second strikes midship.
09:31The remaining four go wide,
09:34but the damage
09:34has already been done.
09:37Immediately large flames
09:40broke out.
09:42All power was knocked out.
09:45There was no way
09:46for the bridge
09:47to tell the engine room
09:48to turn off the engine.
09:50We were traveling
09:51a little over 15 knots
09:53per hour.
09:55Consequently,
09:56we took on water
09:57rapidly.
10:00300 crewmen
10:01aboard the Indianapolis
10:02are killed.
10:04Many others are wounded
10:05as fuel oil erupts
10:06into flames.
10:08The ship has been cut
10:09almost in half.
10:11It begins to list badly.
10:13I could see
10:15hundreds of men
10:16lighting up
10:19along the railing
10:21on the port side.
10:23I thought,
10:23with that many men
10:24over there,
10:26they should give us
10:27enough weight
10:28that we would
10:29upright ourselves.
10:31Not so.
10:33We kept
10:33listing.
10:34When we got to
10:3535,
10:3640 degrees,
10:39the men
10:40started climbing
10:41over those rails
10:42and sliding down
10:44the hull
10:44on the port side.
10:46Seawater pours
10:48through the gaping holes
10:49left by the Japanese
10:50torpedoes.
10:52Radio operators
10:52send out frantic
10:53distress signals
10:54to alert the Navy
10:55to the ship's fate
10:56and position.
10:58But,
10:59in what would be known
11:00as one of the many
11:01controversies
11:02surrounding this incident,
11:03the Indianapolis'
11:04messages were not
11:06received
11:06or went unnoticed.
11:15McVeigh gives
11:16the order,
11:17abandon ship.
11:19I quickly dressed,
11:21grabbed a couple
11:22of life jackets,
11:23and went to my
11:23general quarter station.
11:25I opened up
11:26my control tower
11:27and I found,
11:30lying on the deck,
11:31one of my best friends,
11:32Paul Mitchell.
11:34He was sound asleep.
11:36I woke him up,
11:37gave him a life jacket,
11:38and told him to go
11:39to his general quarter
11:40station.
11:42I know Paul got
11:43off of the ship
11:44because some of my
11:45friends saw him
11:47in the water
11:47at least two days later,
11:49but I never saw
11:51Paul again.
11:53Hundreds of terrified
11:54young sailors,
11:56most of whom
11:56had managed
11:57to pull on life jackets,
11:58leap into the black water
12:0080 feet below.
12:01I swam out probably
12:03200, 250 feet.
12:06Then I turned around
12:08and I noticed
12:10that the ship
12:10had completely gone over
12:12on its top side
12:13and was going bow
12:16down first.
12:18And the last I saw
12:19of it was the stern,
12:21two propellers
12:22turning in the air.
12:23I lost my home.
12:26That was my home.
12:29Others managed
12:30to launch the ship's
12:31two 26-foot lifeboats,
12:33as well as a number
12:34of cork life rafts
12:35protected by canvas.
12:39McVeigh is one
12:39of the last men
12:40to leave the sinking ship.
12:4412.26 a.m.,
12:4612 minutes after
12:47the torpedo strike,
12:48the Indianapolis sinks
12:50into the seemingly
12:50bottomless depths
12:51of the Pacific.
12:55When the Indianapolis
12:56set out for the Philippines
12:57on July 28th,
12:59a coded signal
13:00had been sent
13:01to U.S. bases
13:02warning of the ship's
13:03expected arrival
13:04on the 31st.
13:05But the message
13:06was distorted
13:07and indecipherable.
13:0960 years ago
13:10this very day,
13:11those who should
13:12have been expecting
13:13the ship's arrival
13:13don't even know
13:15that she had been
13:15on her way.
13:21July 30th,
13:2260 years ago today,
13:24the crewmen
13:24of the Indianapolis
13:25are in a desperate
13:26battle to stay alive.
13:29Those who survived
13:30the Japanese torpedo attack
13:32are now alone,
13:33drifting helplessly,
13:35roughly halfway
13:35between Guam and Leyte.
13:38The men are about
13:39350 miles
13:40from the nearest shores,
13:42the island of Peleliu.
13:44There would be
13:45no search.
13:47The coded signal
13:48sent to U.S. bases
13:49warning of the ship's
13:51expected arrival
13:51in Leyte on the 31st
13:53was distorted
13:54and impossible
13:55to make out.
13:58We felt,
13:59surely,
14:00we would be
14:01looked for
14:02because we were
14:03a major war vessel,
14:05a flagship
14:05of the 5th fleet.
14:06Everybody should be
14:08wanting to know
14:09where we are.
14:12Not so
14:13in this case.
14:17After floating
14:17on a potato crate
14:18for several minutes,
14:20Captain McVeigh
14:20spots two life rafts
14:22floating nearby
14:22and climbs in.
14:26McVeigh
14:27and a handful
14:28of other survivors
14:29recover a flare gun,
14:3112 flare cartridges,
14:32a soggy first aid kit,
14:34and some morphine.
14:35They also find
14:37a waterproof
14:37emergency ration kit
14:38containing several
14:39cans of Spam,
14:41malted milk tablets,
14:42and biscuits.
14:44McVeigh calculates
14:45it's enough to last
14:46for about 10 days.
14:48They believe
14:49they are the only survivors.
14:53Roughly 10 miles south,
14:54however,
14:55more than 800 men
14:57are fighting desperately
14:58to stay alive.
15:00All we could do
15:04was spend the night,
15:06first night,
15:06in the water
15:07and it was
15:08covered with oil.
15:11We swallowed
15:12an awful lot of oil,
15:13spent most
15:14of the first night
15:15bobbiting
15:15and throwing that up
15:16to clear our cisterns up
15:18and waited for the sun
15:20to come up
15:20to see what
15:21our circumstances were.
15:22During the first night,
15:27an estimated 50 to 100
15:29sailors
15:29who have been
15:30badly injured
15:31or who have no
15:32life preservers
15:33die in the water.
15:36July 31st,
15:37day two,
15:38weakened from dehydration.
15:40Today,
15:41the survivors
15:41are found,
15:42not by rescuers,
15:44but by sharks.
15:48To their horror,
15:49the waters
15:50are infested
15:50with them.
15:52In small groups,
15:54sharks seemed
15:55to attack them
15:56more readily.
15:57In our larger group,
16:00sharks would come up
16:01and we'd splash
16:03and holler
16:04and they seemed
16:04to let us alone.
16:06We could feel them
16:07swimming under us,
16:08our legs,
16:09and they'd bump
16:10our legs
16:10as we'd swim.
16:12One by one,
16:13they are dragged
16:13into the deep.
16:15The others are left
16:16terrified,
16:17wondering who
16:17will be next.
16:22August 2nd,
16:26day four,
16:2811 a.m.
16:28The remaining crew
16:30of the Indianapolis
16:31had been floating
16:31helplessly in the Pacific
16:33Ocean for roughly
16:3496 hours.
16:36I remember seeing
16:37a lot of blisters
16:37and a lot of burns
16:39and a lot of guys
16:40that were pretty badly
16:41injured.
16:43Well, those that were
16:43burned had blisters
16:45and their blisters
16:45had started to break
16:47and the salt water
16:47started eating on them
16:49and also the sun
16:50was beating down on us.
16:57Many of those
16:58who have managed
16:58to stay alive
16:59are now suffering
17:00from exhaustion,
17:02exposure,
17:02and hallucinations
17:03from ingesting salt water.
17:06Men started
17:07to hallucinate
17:08and see islands
17:10nearby
17:10and they wanted
17:11others to go
17:12swim with them
17:13to the islands
17:13so they could get
17:14a hotel room.
17:19And then others
17:20saw the ship
17:2110 feet below
17:22the surface
17:23and they knew
17:24that if they swam
17:25down below
17:26to where the ship was
17:28they could get
17:29fresh water
17:30at the scuttle
17:30and it was nice
17:31and cold
17:32and they tried
17:32to encourage
17:33others of us
17:34to go down
17:34and drink
17:35some of that water
17:36with it.
17:37And when they'd
17:37come back up
17:38it was only a matter
17:40of three or four hours
17:42they would
17:42just choke up
17:44mouth and tongue
17:47would swell
17:47and close
17:48and they died
17:50a horrible death.
17:53And as they passed away
17:55we had a doctor
17:56in our group
17:57and we'd call him
17:59over to look at him
18:00and he'd open
18:01their eye lit up
18:02and put his finger
18:04on their eyeball
18:05and say he's gone
18:07take his jacket
18:08and let him slip away.
18:10We needed the jackets
18:11for the other groups
18:12that didn't have any
18:13and as these boys
18:15would slip away
18:16sharks would get them.
18:18They were meat.
18:1960 years ago
18:25this very day
18:26a U.S. Navy
18:27Lockheed Ventura
18:28PV-1 bomber
18:29takes off
18:30on a routine patrol
18:31out of Peleliu.
18:33The bomber's crew
18:34spot something unusual
18:36in the sea below.
18:37The plane dives down
18:39for a closer look.
18:40He was circling in
18:42towards us
18:42and as he got down
18:44to less than
18:45a thousand feet
18:46he saw heads bobbing
18:48in the water
18:49lots of them
18:50and he immediately
18:51wired back
18:52to his base
18:53on Peleliu
18:53told him
18:55to send all possible
18:56help
18:56there's a
18:57disaster.
19:00Soon after
19:01two PBY Catalina
19:03flying boats arrive
19:04and pick up
19:05nearly 60 men.
19:07The remaining survivors
19:08are rescued
19:09by U.S. destroyers.
19:12Well
19:12when they started
19:14pulling men
19:14out of the water
19:15they grabbed them
19:17first by their arms
19:18and as they pulled
19:20them up
19:20the skin would come
19:21right off
19:21their bones.
19:23They poured
19:24liquid penicillin
19:25over my entire body
19:26to heal
19:28the saltwater ulcers
19:29and the boils
19:31and the infected skin.
19:35Miraculously
19:38317 men
19:39including McVeigh
19:41survived the sinking
19:42of the Indianapolis.
19:46879 men
19:47from the original
19:48crew of
19:481,196 souls
19:51died.
19:55Inarguably
19:55the worst
19:56disaster at sea
19:57to strike
19:58the U.S. Navy
19:59throughout
19:59the entire war.
20:02McVeigh
20:03would be
20:03court-martialed
20:04on December 3rd
20:051945
20:05and found guilty
20:07of putting his ship
20:08in harm's way
20:09by failing
20:10to perform
20:10the standard
20:11evasive
20:11zigzag maneuverers.
20:14In one final irony
20:15those prosecuting
20:16McVeigh
20:17would attempt
20:17to use
20:18the testimony
20:18of Japanese
20:19sub-commander
20:20Mochitsura Hashimoto
20:21against him.
20:23Captain McVeigh
20:24was a scapegoat.
20:26He was
20:27court-martialed
20:28wrongly.
20:30Those that
20:31should have been
20:31court-martialed
20:32marshal
20:32are the
20:33admirals
20:33and people
20:35in charge
20:35of the island
20:36over on
20:37the Philippines
20:38that did not
20:40do something
20:40about the ship
20:42that was supposed
20:43to be in dock
20:44and they never
20:46did anything
20:46about it
20:47to find out
20:48what happened
20:48to it.
20:51After years
20:52of shame
20:53and subsequent
20:53investigations,
20:54however,
20:55McVeigh would be
20:56exonerated
20:57of any
20:57wrongdoing.
20:59But the
20:59absolution
21:00comes too late.
21:01Unable to cope
21:02with the stigma
21:03and guilt
21:03associated with
21:04the disaster,
21:05McVeigh will
21:06commit suicide
21:07with his Navy
21:07pistol at his
21:08home in 1968.
21:15July 30th,
21:16mainland Japan.
21:1760 years ago
21:18today,
21:19planes from
21:20American and
21:20British carriers
21:21unleash a torrent
21:23of firepower
21:23on 20 Japanese
21:24ships near Kobe,
21:26Nagoya,
21:27and Mysuru
21:27and batter
21:29enemy defenses
21:30south of Tokyo.
21:3548 hours later,
21:37a B-29 raid
21:38annihilates Toyama,
21:39a city of
21:40128,000 people
21:41northwest of Tokyo.
21:45Reconnaissance photos
21:46indicate almost
21:47the entire city,
21:48two square miles,
21:49is destroyed.
21:53U.S. bombers
21:54also hit the cities
21:55of Hachiochi,
21:56Nagaoka,
21:58and Mito,
21:58all on the island
21:59of Honshu.
22:03August 2nd,
22:05mainland Japan.
22:07In total,
22:08750 American B-29s
22:11have dropped
22:11more than 6,000 tons
22:13of incendiaries
22:14on four cities.
22:17The country
22:18is on the verge
22:19of collapse.
22:20We were dropping
22:22bombs almost
22:24without any resistance.
22:27Toward the last
22:27to quit using
22:28their fighters,
22:2920th Air Force
22:30records show
22:31that initially
22:31they were very
22:32intense and they
22:32dropped off.
22:34And so we were able
22:35to bomb any place
22:36we wanted.
22:37The U.S.
22:38not only owns
22:39the skies above Japan,
22:41but all main
22:42Japanese ports
22:42have been sealed off
22:43with a network
22:44of mines laid
22:45by American bombers,
22:46leaving the country
22:47totally blockaded.
22:51The Japanese
22:52merchant marine
22:53has lost
22:538 million tons
22:54of shipping
22:55to Allied submarines,
22:56aircraft,
22:57and ships.
22:58The majority
22:59of Japanese warships
23:00have also been
23:01destroyed or crippled.
23:03This week alone,
23:05the Japanese Navy
23:06will lose
23:06three battleships
23:07and four aircraft
23:08carriers.
23:10As Japanese military
23:12forces sustain
23:13devastating losses,
23:14the country's
23:15civilian population
23:16is also suffering.
23:19Just three days ago,
23:20food shortages
23:21forced the Imperial
23:22Command to order
23:23civilians to collect
23:242.5 million bushels
23:26of acorns
23:27to be used as food.
23:30Despite being pushed
23:31to their limits,
23:32the Japanese government
23:33is still unwilling
23:34to admit defeat.
23:37As the devastating
23:38torrent of attacks
23:39continues on mainland
23:40Japan,
23:41halfway around the world
23:43in Potsdam, Germany,
23:44Allied leaders
23:45have convened
23:46to not only determine
23:47the future
23:47of post-war Europe,
23:49but also strategize
23:51on how to bring
23:51a swift and decisive
23:52end to the war
23:53against Japan.
23:56Clement Attlee,
23:57who has replaced
23:58Winston Churchill
23:59as Prime Minister
24:00of Great Britain,
24:01now joins Truman
24:02and Stalin,
24:03who have been meeting
24:03for the past two weeks.
24:06As Attlee enters
24:07the scene,
24:08tensions among
24:09the Allied leaders
24:09are already high.
24:12The East-West alliance
24:13has been strained
24:14as Stalin's imperialistic
24:16motives in Europe
24:16and the Far East
24:17have become
24:18increasingly apparent.
24:22At Yalta,
24:23back in February 1945,
24:25it had been decided
24:26that two or three months
24:27after Germany's surrender,
24:29the Soviet Union
24:30would enter the war
24:31in the Pacific
24:32in exchange for areas
24:33of occupation
24:34in the Far East.
24:35But to date,
24:36Stalin has yet
24:37to declare war
24:38on the Japanese.
24:40And if Truman
24:41has his way,
24:42he won't have to,
24:43now that the U.S.
24:44is in possession
24:45of the world's
24:46first atomic weapon.
24:49July 30th.
24:51In anticipation
24:52of a sudden
24:52Japanese surrender,
24:54the Allied leaders
24:54order plans
24:55for Japan's
24:56imminent occupation
24:57and disarmament
24:58to be drawn up.
24:59The order comes
25:00despite the fact
25:01that just two days ago,
25:03Japan effectively
25:03ignored the Potsdam
25:05Declaration,
25:06issued by the U.S.,
25:07Great Britain,
25:07and China,
25:09which called
25:09upon the Imperial
25:10command to immediately
25:11and unconditionally
25:12surrender to Allied forces.
25:14The Japanese
25:15sent only a vague response
25:17which literally
25:17translated means
25:19kill by silence.
25:21The answer itself
25:22was ambiguous,
25:23and maybe it was
25:23deliberately ambiguous,
25:25in which case
25:26the Japanese suffered
25:27because the Americans
25:30construed it
25:30in the worst possible way.
25:33For the Americans
25:33it was kind of
25:34a point of no return.
25:35It's the end
25:36of the discussion
25:36as far as the Americans
25:37are concerned.
25:38The Japanese government
25:39at this point
25:40feels under no pressure
25:41that the invasion,
25:42if it's going to come,
25:42won't be for several months,
25:44that they're not as worried
25:46as they should be
25:46about the Soviet invasion.
25:48Stalin is secretly
25:49building a massive
25:50Soviet army
25:50in the Far East,
25:51poised to strike
25:52against Japan.
25:55Sixty years ago
25:56this week,
25:56in Manila,
25:57U.S. General MacArthur
25:59continues preparations
26:00for the impending
26:01ground war.
26:01In addition to
26:04650,000 U.S. servicemen,
26:06he will have the support
26:07of one million British,
26:09Canadian,
26:09and Australian troops.
26:12But as planning continues
26:13for the invasion
26:14of mainland Japan,
26:16so does preparation
26:17for the final assembly
26:18and deployment
26:19of the atomic bomb.
26:21July 29th,
26:23Tinian Island.
26:24The remaining parts
26:25of the atomic bomb
26:26Little Boy
26:27arrive from the
26:28top-secret national laboratory
26:29in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
26:33Over the next 24 hours,
26:35the final nuclear components
26:37would be inserted
26:37into the 9,000-pound
26:39uranium-235-fueled
26:41atomic weapon
26:42at Tinian's
26:43North Airfield.
26:47July 31st.
26:49Today,
26:50after years of
26:51top-secret research
26:52and development,
26:53the world's first
26:54uranium-based
26:54nuclear weapon
26:55is ready.
26:57The Manhattan Project's
26:58success can be traced
27:00back to thousands
27:01of men and women
27:01recruited from college
27:03campuses and laboratories
27:04around the world.
27:15They were some
27:16of the most anonymous
27:16and influential participants
27:18in a massive war effort.
27:21Much of their existence
27:22and work is shrouded
27:23in secrecy,
27:24some aspects
27:25still classified
27:2660 years later.
27:27The Manhattan Project,
27:30the program to build
27:31the world's first
27:32atomic weapons,
27:33was conducted
27:34at over 30 research
27:35and development facilities
27:36across the United States,
27:38but the bulk of the work
27:39was carried out
27:40in three top-secret locations,
27:43Oak Ridge, Tennessee,
27:44Los Alamos, New Mexico,
27:46and Hanford, Washington.
27:48In staffing these facilities,
27:50military recruiters
27:51turned to some of the best
27:52and brightest minds
27:53from the nation's
27:54top universities.
27:55Some of their recruits
27:57were barely 20 years old.
28:00The Army had an IQ test
28:02and I had a perfect score.
28:04Now, I didn't cheat.
28:06It actually came out
28:07being a perfect score.
28:08So they found
28:09that this was a possible
28:10good person to look into.
28:13Each year,
28:14companies come around
28:15to recruit.
28:17And I was just at the beginning
28:19of my one year's
28:20master's program.
28:21And so one of the guys
28:23I talked to said,
28:24we've got a really
28:25important project.
28:27And I said,
28:28gee, what is it?
28:29He says, can't tell you.
28:31And I said, well, where is it?
28:32And he says, can't tell you.
28:33But it's really important
28:34to the war effort
28:36and you'll really like it.
28:39This was the World Almanac.
28:41He said that uranium
28:42had been discovered
28:43in East Tennessee.
28:44And I said, aha, that's it.
28:46And I went back to this guy
28:47and said, it's atomic energy,
28:48isn't it?
28:49That's what you guys
28:49are doing.
28:50And he says, it's the policy
28:52of the American government
28:53neither to confirm
28:54nor deny the nature
28:55of classified work.
28:57And I said, that's good enough
28:58for me.
28:58Sign me up.
29:00Recruitment continued
29:01throughout the war.
29:03Leslie Groves,
29:04the project's director,
29:05estimated that at its peak,
29:07his workforce reached
29:08600,000.
29:11Oak Ridge alone
29:12was home to thousands
29:13of people,
29:14but the activities
29:14of those at work
29:15within the Manhattan
29:16Project compounds
29:17were a secret to many.
29:19People in Santa Fe
29:20were very curious about us
29:21and would have
29:23a story to tell.
29:25And the one I always liked
29:27best was that
29:28we were building
29:29submarines
29:30that we were going to launch
29:32in the Rio Grande
29:32at Española.
29:34Now, you wouldn't know
29:35what that means,
29:36but the Rio Grande
29:37at Española,
29:38when it's at flood stage,
29:40is maybe four
29:41or five feet deep.
29:43And so there would have been
29:44a remarkable submarine
29:45that we could have launched there.
29:47Even the people
29:49who worked at the facilities
29:50were subject to an incredibly
29:51high amount of secrecy
29:52and security
29:53for fear that information
29:55about the project
29:56would leak to the general public.
29:58All those contributing
29:59to the Manhattan Project
30:01did so with a sense of purpose,
30:03believing their efforts,
30:04no matter how large or small,
30:06would change the outcome
30:08of the war.
30:09There was no question
30:10in our mind
30:10that we were all
30:11working on a weapon.
30:12We had a job to do.
30:16Responsibility
30:17goes without question.
30:18That's why you were there.
30:22July 31st,
30:23Potsdam, Germany.
30:2460 years ago
30:25this very day,
30:27Truman receives
30:27an urgent message
30:28from Secretary of War
30:29Henry Stimson
30:30in Washington, D.C.
30:33Stimson offers
30:34several suggestions
30:35on how to persuade
30:36Japan to surrender,
30:38including conventional bombing,
30:40diplomacy,
30:41and a mainland invasion.
30:43He makes no mention
30:44of the atomic bomb.
30:46But Allied casualties
30:48in a mainland invasion
30:49have already been projected
30:50to top one million.
30:53Convinced that the newly
30:54completed weapon
30:55will save countless
30:56American lives,
30:58Truman stands by his order
30:59to drop the atomic bomb
31:00over Japan.
31:02Clearly a decision
31:03is momentous
31:04as dropping this bomb
31:06on a Japanese city
31:08had to come
31:09from the president.
31:10Did he have
31:11enough information
31:12to make a decision
31:13that was truly grounded
31:16in a full understanding
31:17of the facts?
31:17Probably not.
31:19I don't think
31:19he knew enough
31:20about what the alternatives were.
31:24And I think
31:24that he didn't know
31:26how vast the destruction
31:28would be.
31:32Truman stipulates
31:33that the atomic bomb
31:34is not to be dropped
31:35until after the Potsdam conference
31:37ends on August 2nd.
31:40But a typhoon swelling
31:42in the Pacific
31:42will delay the release
31:44of the A-bomb
31:44for several more days.
31:50This week,
31:52as the Potsdam conference
31:53draws to a close,
31:54Truman,
31:55Attlee,
31:55and Stalin
31:56issue a declaration
31:57of intent
31:58for post-war Germany.
31:59August 1st,
32:03Germany.
32:04Over the course
32:05of the past two weeks,
32:07the Allied leaders
32:08have attempted
32:08to lay the foundation
32:09for post-war Europe.
32:11Truman,
32:12Attlee,
32:12and Stalin
32:13call for the disarmament
32:14and demilitarization
32:15of Germany.
32:16The defeated nation
32:19will now concentrate
32:20on rebuilding
32:21its domestic
32:22and agricultural base.
32:25Germany,
32:25once at the forefront
32:26of scientific advancement
32:27and technology,
32:29is to be reduced
32:30to farm country.
32:32American opinion
32:33about Germany's future
32:35was deeply divided.
32:40I think there were those
32:41who were prepared
32:42to let the Germans suffer,
32:44that they deserve
32:46the kind of suffering
32:46that they got,
32:50and indeed,
32:52that Germany
32:52ought to be kept
32:53at a level
32:54of subsistence
32:55that would prevent Germany
32:58from ever again
32:59organizing
33:00the same kind
33:01of foreign political
33:03aggression
33:03that had led
33:04in people's minds
33:05to two world wars
33:07in the 20th century.
33:11Reparations will be paid,
33:13and major war
33:13criminals will be put
33:14on trial
33:15as quickly as possible.
33:18Germany is divided
33:19along the lines
33:19originally drawn
33:20at the Yalta Conference
33:21in February.
33:25This division
33:26gives the Soviet Union
33:27control of 30%
33:29of German land,
33:3040% of the population,
33:32and about a third
33:32of the country's
33:33natural resources.
33:37German land east
33:38of the Oder and Nysa rivers
33:39is given to the New Poland,
33:41where there is talk
33:42of Stalin's promise
33:43of free elections.
33:47Stalin, however,
33:48has no intention
33:49of allowing this to happen.
33:51With millions of Soviet troops
33:53now stationed
33:53in Eastern Europe,
33:54he knows he has gained
33:56the upper hand.
33:5860 years ago today,
33:59as the Potsdam Conference
34:00comes to an end,
34:02the Soviet dictator
34:03is the sole remaining leader
34:04of the original Big Three.
34:06With Roosevelt dead
34:07and Churchill now out of office,
34:10Stalin is confident
34:11that he can strong-arm
34:12Truman and Attlee
34:13over the future
34:14of the territories
34:15now occupied
34:15by the Soviet Union.
34:18The Potsdam Conference
34:20doesn't provide the basis
34:21for cooperation
34:22in Europe as a whole.
34:24It doesn't provide the basis
34:26for a unified Germany.
34:29It doesn't provide the basis
34:30for international order.
34:32All of those ways,
34:33I suppose you could say,
34:34it was a failure.
34:35In just one week,
34:37Stalin,
34:38having already descended
34:39upon Eastern Europe,
34:40will extend his grasp
34:42into Manchuria.
34:45July 31st, Singapore.
34:4860 years ago today,
34:49British commandos
34:50launch an attack.
34:51A four-man Royal Navy crew
34:53on board an X-craft
34:54miniature submarine,
34:56the XE-3,
34:57slips through
34:57Japanese harbor defenses
34:59and attaches limpet mines
35:00to the hull of the Takeo,
35:02a Japanese cruiser.
35:03A whole 23 feet by 10 feet
35:06is blown through
35:07the ship's hull.
35:10Sitting in the shallow water,
35:12the Takeo doesn't sink,
35:14but is immobilized
35:15and rendered useless
35:16to the Japanese.
35:19August 4th,
35:20facing increased pressure
35:22from the loss of the Takeo.
35:24In an act of extreme cruelty,
35:26Japanese guards in Singapore
35:27execute seven U.S. airmen
35:29being held as POWs.
35:33War crimes like these
35:35would take on new
35:36and ghastly forms
35:37during World War II.
35:39Many of the concentration camps
35:41that dotted the European landscape
35:42were home to murderous
35:44scientific experiments
35:45conducted on human guinea pigs.
35:48Few, however,
35:49are aware
35:50that the Japanese
35:51were also engaged
35:52in their own form
35:53of human experimentation
35:54in one of the most horrific
35:56government-sanctioned programs
35:58of the war.
35:59That program
35:59was Unit 731.
36:11Unit 731
36:12was a biological warfare unit
36:15that was established
36:17in Manchuria,
36:19the area of China
36:19that the Japanese took over
36:21in the early 1930s.
36:23General Shiro Ishii
36:25would become known
36:26as the father of Japan's
36:27biological weapons program.
36:30He pushed very strongly
36:31to set up a test site
36:33where you would not only
36:34test for methods
36:38to defend against
36:38biological warfare,
36:39but you would also
36:40begin to develop weapons.
36:44at a sprawling facility
36:45that rivaled the largest
36:46of the Nazi concentration camps.
36:49Prisoners were injected
36:50with biological agents
36:51and countless poisons.
36:54Entire villages in China
36:56were infected with cholera
36:58and other diseases
36:59in order to study their effects
37:01on large populations.
37:03Anthrax, bubonic plague,
37:06tuberculosis,
37:07I mean, name a disease,
37:09and they were trying
37:10to develop the agents.
37:12Additionally,
37:15many POWs were treated well
37:16and kept in excellent shape,
37:18only to meet grisly fates
37:20at the hands of scientists
37:21who wanted healthy human bodies
37:23on which to experiment.
37:25They experimented
37:26by freezing the limbs
37:28of these human subjects,
37:31seeing what the best way
37:33to unfreeze them was
37:35and cut them off
37:37and examined what damage
37:38had been done.
37:39Nobody really, I think,
37:40knows the number of humans
37:41who were subjected
37:42to these experiments.
37:45Unit 731 was just one
37:47of many facilities
37:48used by the Japanese,
37:49but its name would become
37:51synonymous with the many
37:52secret testing camps
37:53used across China,
37:55Burma, and Thailand.
37:57As many as 200,000 people
38:00are believed to have been killed
38:01in germ warfare experiments,
38:03human vivisection,
38:04and other sadistic acts.
38:08Ultimately,
38:09the full horrors
38:09of Unit 731
38:11may never be known.
38:13Japan's biological weapons program
38:15was suspended
38:15in August 1945.
38:18To hide their crimes,
38:19the facilities,
38:20and evidence
38:21of what happened there
38:22were destroyed
38:22by the Japanese.
38:25In 1948,
38:26the scientists
38:27of Unit 731
38:28were offered immunity
38:29from war crimes charges
38:31in exchange for sharing data
38:33with the U.S.,
38:34and cooperation
38:34in keeping the information
38:36out of Soviet hands.
38:38General Li Xi,
38:39who had run this operation,
38:40and his subordinates,
38:43played a very clever game
38:44with holding the information,
38:47trying to trade that
38:49for immunity
38:49from any prosecution
38:51as war criminals.
38:53And, in effect,
38:55that deal was made.
38:57So the war criminals,
38:59in a sense,
39:00got off scot-free.
39:03And, again,
39:03many of the people
39:04who were involved,
39:05the physicians and so forth,
39:06the military physicians
39:08who were involved,
39:09go on and have
39:10prosperous careers.
39:13Many Unit 731 scientists
39:16would later hold
39:17high positions
39:17in business,
39:18medicine,
39:19and academia,
39:20a difficult legacy
39:22with which Japan
39:23continues to struggle.
39:2960 years ago this week,
39:32the Japanese are in full retreat
39:33in Southeast Asia.
39:35The Imperial Command, however,
39:37has rebuffed Allied demands
39:39for unconditional surrender.
39:42As a result,
39:43the wheels have been set in motion
39:44for the unleashing
39:45of the most powerful
39:46and destructive weapon
39:48known to man.
39:48August 4th,
39:53Tinian Island.
39:55Colonel Paul Tibbetts
39:56briefs the 509th
39:57composite group
39:58on their orders.
40:00The crew has been training
40:01on the island for weeks,
40:03completely in the dark
40:04about the details
40:05of the task ahead.
40:09Today, the 509th
40:10are informed
40:11about their mission,
40:12but still,
40:13no mention is made
40:14of the atomic bomb.
40:16What they do know
40:17is that in 48 hours,
40:19they will take off
40:20with a critical payload
40:21destined for Japan.
40:23The final countdown
40:24has begun.
40:26In less than two weeks,
40:27the war
40:28will finally come
40:29to an end.
40:47The final countdown
40:47is about the time
40:49in the fall of the Nine-Rich.
40:49It's about the time
40:49and the time
40:50will be a full review.
40:50The final countdown
40:51will be made out
40:51at the beginning of the time.
40:52We'll see you next time.
40:52We'll talk to you next week.
40:53We'll have you next time.
40:55Transcription by CastingWords
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