My friend here in Salem, OR, was a Pharmacist's Mate on the USS Tranquility when they picked up about half of the survivors from
Pelileu to take them to Guam. He is looking for the men who he cared for in a sick bay. There were 3 men: an 'older' sailor of about
30 and two younger men about age 18. One was a Marine who spoke of guarding the brig. We think it might have been Giles McCoy,
but we don't know. My friend, Jon, is about 90 now and thinks about those men often. Does anyone have a guess about who they
are? Is Giles McCoy available for us to email him? I'm writing as Jon can't see well. Thank you.
SurvivorsDaughter said
Sep 29, 2016
Thank you so much for the post MarshaM. Sadly, Dr McCoy passed away a few years ago. He was a wonderful man, and very instrumental in contacting all the survivors and organizing the very first survivors reunion, and was chairman of their organization for many many years. A very kind and thankful man, indeed. He and the other survivors always spoke to highly of the sailors on the rescue ships that gave them such great care and attention. It was never forgotten. My father was a survivor as well, and he spoke of that often. As far as the older survivor, there's a chance that may have been Thomas Goff. He is one of the gentlemen that I recall being older than most. He lived to see his 100th birthday and passed away Here is a link to an article about him. Perhaps the name will ring a bell to your friend. The article also mentions Dr McCoy, and I am attaching his obituary also.
Thank you so much for your interest i the story and for helping Jon gather more information. I wish I had more information for you!
If you would like - our Organization USS Indianapolis CA-35 Second Watch has a Facebook page (by the same name) and we post information and stories about the ship as it comes our way. We are a group of the next generation of the final sailing crew, both those that survived and those lost at sea.
MarshaM said
Sep 29, 2016
Thank you, too, for the links to Dr. McCoy and to Mr. Goff. I will ask Jon later today if that name
helps his recall. Actually, now I have learned that Jon spoke with Dr. McCoy at an early reunion,
and that he was probably not the man in Jon's medical bay. We will keep working on this.
Coincidentally, as I was going through some photo albums, I turned up an original of the Aug. 15, 1945,
Sacramento Bee's front page. It announced the surrender of Japan and also had a column about
the sinking of the Indianapolis. I will display it at my retirement home's Veteran's Day observation here
in Salem in Nov. Jon will display a copy of the well known painting of the PBY on the water with the men and sharks.
My friend here in Salem, OR, was a Pharmacist's Mate on the USS Tranquility when they picked up about half of the survivors from
Pelileu to take them to Guam. He is looking for the men who he cared for in a sick bay. There were 3 men: an 'older' sailor of about
30 and two younger men about age 18. One was a Marine who spoke of guarding the brig. We think it might have been Giles McCoy,
but we don't know. My friend, Jon, is about 90 now and thinks about those men often. Does anyone have a guess about who they
are? Is Giles McCoy available for us to email him? I'm writing as Jon can't see well. Thank you.
Obituary of Tom Goff: alt.obituaries.narkive.com/tWvYLH9o/tom-goff-100-oldest-survivor-from-the-sinking-of-the-uss-indianapolis-dies
Obituary of Giles McCoy: www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-journalonline/obituary.aspx
Oral history of Giles McCoy: memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.02879/transcript
Thank you so much for your interest i the story and for helping Jon gather more information. I wish I had more information for you!
If you would like - our Organization USS Indianapolis CA-35 Second Watch has a Facebook page (by the same name) and we post information and stories about the ship as it comes our way. We are a group of the next generation of the final sailing crew, both those that survived and those lost at sea.
Thank you, too, for the links to Dr. McCoy and to Mr. Goff. I will ask Jon later today if that name
helps his recall. Actually, now I have learned that Jon spoke with Dr. McCoy at an early reunion,
and that he was probably not the man in Jon's medical bay. We will keep working on this.
Coincidentally, as I was going through some photo albums, I turned up an original of the Aug. 15, 1945,
Sacramento Bee's front page. It announced the surrender of Japan and also had a column about
the sinking of the Indianapolis. I will display it at my retirement home's Veteran's Day observation here
in Salem in Nov. Jon will display a copy of the well known painting of the PBY on the water with the men and sharks.
My regards, MarshaM
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