The Pacific Theater
Gallery 10
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This Japanese summer pattern tunic was worn by a Corporal (as indicated by the collar tabs). Also shown is the standard pattern Japanese Army canteen with web carrying harness.
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This khaki uniform was worn by Lieutenant R. Preston Cocke while assigned to the 116th Naval Construction Battalion. The 116th NCB was attached to the 5th Marine Division in Hawaii, where Lieutenant Cocke's brother, Captain Duncan M. Cocke, was a logistics officer in the Division. They were preparing for the invasion of Japan at the time the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; after the Japanese surrender, Lieutenant Cocke was in the occupation forces on Kyushu Island, until June 1946. He continued to serve in the reserves until his retirement in 1966. A third brother, Captain Thomas P. Cocke, USN, served in the European Theater. (Donated by R. Preston Cocke)
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Copy of the Indianapolis Star announcing the end of the war. Of interest is the headline revealing that the cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis had been sunk with the loss of 883 crewmen. At 12:14 a.m. on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea and sank in 12 minutes. 300 men went down with the ship; the remainder were left floating in shark-infested waters with no lifeboats and most with no food or water. The ship was never missed, and by the time the survivors were spotted by accident four days later only 316 men were still alive. The ship's captain, Charles Butler McVay III, survived, was court-martialed and convicted of "hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag" despite testimony from the Japanese submarine commander that zigzagging would have made no difference. In July 2001 the Navy Department announced that Captain McVay's record was amended to exonerate him for the loss of the Indianapolis. Unfortunately, Captain McVay committed suicide in 1968.
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