RICHMOND, Va. — Sitting silently in our WTVR-TV archives for 24 years, there are two video tapes which are speaking volumes today. On the tapes are recordings of a man from Williamsburg, Virginia, who lived through one of the worst disasters in U.S. Military history.
Richard Paroubek survived the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis 80 years ago this month.
“Strangely enough, I did not hear or feel the explosion,” Mr. Paroubek said. “But I found myself unconscious on the deck.”
Most of his memories captured during an interview with this reporter in 2001 have never been heard.
On July 30, 1945, the heavy cruiser was moving through the Philippine Sea. After completing a top secret mission two Japanese torpedoes slam into the Indy. She sinks in just 12 minutes.
“After that, the ship started to list pretty strongly,” said Mr. Paroubek. “And I just put my feet over the railing and as she was going over I just slid down the side of the ship and I hit the water and swam away as fast as I could.”
About 300 men go down with the ship. Nine hundred men, including 23-year-old Richard Paroubek, struggle to stay afloat.
"I think I was prepared to die," said Mr. Paroubek. "Of course people, men were crying out for their fellow shipmates, asking for help because they had been injured and so forth. Of course we survived the night. And the next morning we thought we were gonna be picked up and rescued, but that didn’t happen."
It is the beginning of a tortuous odyssey. No drinking water, no food, barely any rafts in water swarming with sharks.
“Men started swimming away, they hallucinate because they’d drink the sea water. I prayed a lot and thought about family and friends and things like that to keep my mind occupied,” said Mr. Paroubek. “Well I never had any encounter with a shark, but I did see the fins floating around and every once in a while I’d hear somebody scream. I didn’t realize what that was at the time.”
Shipmates of the Yeoman 1st Class are dying from injuries, sun exposure and dehydration all around him.
“The first morning there was a count. And I believe the total was close to 150 and out of that group 67 survived,” said Mr. Paroubek.
Four and half days after the sinking of the Indianapolis a U.S. Naval plane spots what is remaining of the Indy’s crew. Rescuers finally arrived. Just 316 out of the 1,195 men who were serving on the Indy lived to tell the tale.
“My two shipmates who were in the office with me did not survive,” said Mr. Paroubek. “I can’t describe it to you. First of all, it was wonderful getting out of the water this was heaven. And then to get this rescue, this was also very exhilarating.”
The Indianapolis tragedy makes headlines but is largely forgotten when the end of WWII arrives just weeks later.
U.S. Navy Commander Amy Thomas admires the courage of the men of the Indy who have become part of the Navy’s lore.
“The Indianapolis displays, but the tragedy triumph of war,” says Commander Thomas. “And that is the common thread that ties us to the crew in Indianapolis we are all ship we continue to carry their legacy and remembering them installs in me a great honor to put on the uniform every day.”
Years later, Americans learn about the Indy’s demise in Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws, when Captain Quint delivers one of the most chilling scenes in movie history.
Executive Director of the Virginia War Memorial Clay Mountcastle says as we move farther from the event, the sailor’s recollections become even more invaluable.
“I can’t even imagine what it would’ve felt like,” says Dr. Mountcastle. “It makes you look back and be grateful that veterans are able to share their stories with us and in a way that we had made it a bigger effort to capture more stories when we could have.”
Twenty-four years ago this month, 79-year-old Richard Paroubek was preparing for the reunion of the Indianapolis’ crew. It was an annual event the veteran never missed up until his death in 2010.
“It brings back memories of of course this is one of the major things that you want to do and it’s a comradeship and bond that we always have and we get closer because the ranks are now getting smaller. It’s nice to see the guys again,” said Mr. Paroubek.
Eighty years removed from U.S.S. Indianapolis tragedy, one sailor’s story preserved forever. His voice still echoing across the decades.
“I’ll tell you why I never lost hope. I don’t feel like that,” said Mr. Paroubek. “This is going to carry on the feeling of the Indianapolis and the sacrifice of the 880 men who gave their lives for their country.”
As of July 2025, one U.S.S. Indianapolis survivor is still living. According to the official website of the USS Indianapolis, 98-year-old Harold John Bray lives in California.
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