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WINONA LAKE – When the U.S. Navy announced Aug. 19 that wreckage of the USS Indianapolis was found on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean, it brought up a lot of memories for Arlene Gaither Cole, 88, Winona Lake.
Her brother, U.S. Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class Forest M. Gaither, was aboard the Indianapolis when it was struck by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine just after midnight on July 30, 1945. He didn’t die in the Pacific waters, but on the USS Cecil J. Doyle after being rescued by that ship’s crew. He and 20 others were buried at sea.
Gaither Cole said when she read an article about the Indianapolis wreckage being found, “I thought, ‘Oh no.’ I think it’s silly myself they went down there. It was torpedoed and torn up, it did a number on it. When I read the article, it made me sad because I was there at 16 years old when we got the word” that Forest was killed.
The expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel located the wreckage of the Indianapolis more than 18,000 feet below the surface.
The Indianapolis played a critical role in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima before being struck by the Japanese torpedoes, according to an Associated Press story. The sinking of the ship remains the Navy’s single worst loss at sea. Nearly 900 of its crew were killed, many by sharks. Just 316 survived.
The Indianapolis, with 1,196 sailors and Marines on board, was sailing the Philippine Sea between Guam and Leyte Gulf when it was hit by the Japanese. The ship sank in 12 minutes, killing about 300. Survivors were left in the water, most of them with only life jackets.
Gaither Cole said her brother was ready to be promoted to chief petty officer 2nd class before he died.
Forest was born Jan. 15, 1922, the fourth of seven sons and nine total children, including two daughters, of Ben and Grace Gaither, from the Bridgeport, Ill., area. He was drafted into the Army in 1942, joining the Navy in September 1942, Gaither Cole said. He went through many schoolings before going out on the Indianapolis in 1943.
“I did a lot of research and (Forest) was on the top deck with a very close friend, Cleatus Lebow, because it was very hot that night” when the ship was sank, Gaither Cole said. Also up on the top deck was Clarence L. Hershberger, who survived and wrote up his accounts of that night, providing a copy to Gaither Cole.
“This was very tragic for me. We were at home when we got the word. He didn’t die in the water. He died after they picked him up on the USS?Doyle,” she said.
Gaither Cole said Forest was “very quiet. A good farm boy. He was quite a basketball player in Wheatland. I was his little sister and I was spoiled with those six older brothers.”
She has letters Forest sent home to their parents while he was in the Navy. In one letter, “He’s giving Mom the devil for letting me get out and see the world,” Gaither Cole said with a laugh.
Forest served in the Battle of Marshall Islands, Gaither Cole said. Since he couldn’t identify where he was serving in his letters, she said he would hint at it. Their family lived on a farm owned by a Mr. Marshall, so Forest referenced the battle by saying “where you guys live.”
“I think he was in 10 different battles,” Gaither Cole said.
For his service and sacrifice, Forest was awarded the Purple Heart, the American Campaign medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal and the World War II medal.
Though Forest was buried at sea, he has a headstone at the family cemetery in Bridgeport.
Of the nine Gaither children, Gaither Cole is the last surviving one. They lost a brother when he was 13, another one at 19 and then Forest at 23. “I lost three brothers in five years,” she said.
After high school, Forest loved to farm on his father’s farm. He planned to be a farmer and marry his girlfriend, Maxine Palmer, after the Navy. Palmer died in 2016.
