Here are some pictures of Survivor Harold Eck and family.  Harold will be 81 yrs old on August 11th.  He was 18 yrs old at the time of the sinking.  He returned home and was a New Orleans Firefighter for 25 years, owned a heating & air-conditioning business, then worked for Boeing/Martin Marietta/NASA.   He was a life-long, and very proud resident of New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina, then he relocated to Little Rock Arkansas.    He suffered a stroke in 1999 and has difficulty speaking, but is just as fiesty as ever and sharp as a tack!  He loves attending the Survivor's Organization reunions with his family and seeing his friends and their families.   He always looks forward to seeing his friend Master Chief George Harris while he is in Indianapolis, and George honors him by escorting him into the Memorial Service (see photos).

-- Edited by SurvivorsDaughter at 01:29, 2007-07-30

-- Edited by SurvivorsDaughter at 08:02, 2007-08-14

May God bless you and God bless your Daddy. It's wonderful hearing of a full, productive (and hopefully happy) life after the horror of what happened to the crew of the Indianapolis.

-- Edited by BobbysNiece at 19:30, 2007-07-30

I'm Red Scanlan's nephew, he was a friend of your fathers on board and in NO, it is a shame that we lost such a man because of that hurricane. But the NO he remembers will probally not be back, also a shame. I am glad you have some photos to cherish. Thanks to "Betsy" & "Katrina" there is nothing left of Red's legacy. I had several Photos and old papers that survived Betsy but didn't make through Katrina.

So sorry to hear of your losses in Katrina as well.    The hardest part by far was the loss of the memories such as photos, videos, news articles, etc and not the least, our city as we knew it.   

I am a nursing student at UAMS in Little Rock. I had the great honor and privilage to meet Mr Eck today, I was so thrilled to talk to him and his wife for a nice little while. This man is a true American Hero.....we need to honor him.

How sweet!   They did tell me about meeting the nursing students at their program and how sweet everyone was!  Thank you so much for making him feel so special.  That's about all these guys truly need these days, to know their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their friends will not be forgotten.

Harold and the rest of the Eck family im sorry it has taken so long to find you. My name is Michael Van Peski and I worked with Harold for years at the Michoud facility in New Orleans. I was the young man with blonde hair (most of it gone now) who worked in the sray foam area next to the dock. Harold and I became pretty good friends and he loaned me the tape of the ship and the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. He is a great man who I looked up to and was proud of him. I don't know if I ever told him this and even if he does not remember me I am proud of him.

How wonderful to hear from you! My dad is Harold Eck and he is doing well - for being almost 87 years old!! Not sure if you knew it, but he suffered a massive stroke back in 1999 and was left paralyzed on his right side and lost the ability to speak. Since you knew my father so well - I'm sure you realize how hard losing His ability to speak has been for him!!! He's sharp as a tack still and otherwise in good health, believe it or not! I will be sure to show him your message and let him know you were thinking about him. Very sweet for you to send him that message! Thank you!

How wonderful to hear from you! My dad is Harold Eck and he is doing well - for being almost 87 years old!! Not sure if you knew it, but he suffered a massive stroke back in 1999 and was left paralyzed on his right side and lost the ability to speak. Since you knew my father so well - I'm sure you realize how hard losing His ability to speak has been for him!!! He's sharp as a tack still and otherwise in good health, believe it or not! I will be sure to show him your message and let him know you were thinking about him. Very sweet for you to send him that message! Thank you!

I was told later on after he had left martin Marietta that he had a stroke and it broke my heart. I worked for them for thirty years and had only met a few people like Mr Harold. Your father is a awesome man and a hero to this country and the people within and I am very proud to know him. Y'all will always be in my prayers and mr Harold will always be in my heart. i still live forty miles north of N.O. in picayune Ms. Tell your dad that I still run around photographing lightning. I don't know if he will remember that or not.

I told him that you posted a note to him and that made him smile! I'll be sure to tell him about the lightening! He loved his years working for Martin Marietta and had some great friends and laughs there! My brother actually lives in Picayune MS (since Katrina) and he is a dentist.