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Louis Harold Erwin, 2003

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: USS Indianapolis (CA 354)
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Gilbert Islands; Marshall Islands; Mariana Islands; Western Caroline Islands; Iwo Jima; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Coxswain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/6006

View full service history

"We tried to all gather in the water and keep ourselves together where the sharks \\nwouldn't get us. (Video Interview, 22:29)

Louis Erwin spent four days and five nights at sea after the USS Indianapolis went down, floating in a kapok life jacket. He lost hundreds of shipmates during those harrowing days and nights-to sharks, to madness from drinking salt water, and from a loss of hope for rescue. Erwin survived, only to see their captain court-martialed for the sinking. For Erwin, the tragedy is that Leyte did not alert anyone to the fact that the Indianapolis never arrived.

Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Interview / Recording

Transcript

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About this Item

Title

  • Louis Harold Erwin Collection

Names

  • Willie, Michael Lloyd
  • WRCB-TV Channel 3
  • Erwin, Louis Harold
  • Bowen, Sarah

Home State

  • Tennessee

Headings

  • -  Erwin, Louis Harold
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: USS Indianapolis (CA 354)
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Gilbert Islands; Marshall Islands; Mariana Islands; Western Caroline Islands; Iwo Jima; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Coxswain
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Video: Betacam SP [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-03-13)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2012-01-30)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/6006

Cite as

  • Louis Harold Erwin Collection (AFC/2001/001/6006), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Louis Harold Erwin, and Sarah Bowen. Louis Harold Erwin Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06006/.

APA citation style:

Willie, M. L., Wrcb-Tv Channel 3, Erwin, L. H. & Bowen, S. (1943) Louis Harold Erwin Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06006/.

MLA citation style:

Willie, Michael Lloyd, et al. Louis Harold Erwin Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.06006/>.