Ron Duffy Art

Sara Vladic, co-author of Indianapolis, in her interview for this podcast, recounts how Captain Parke showed extraordinary courage and care for his fellow shipmates: "Captain Parke was the Marine captain aboard Indianapolis. And he was a survivor of Guadalcanal and very respected amongst the men. Captain Parke with his big Marine voice, shouted out to all the men and gathered them together. He directed men to hook their arms together and hook the life jackets together and form a big circle. They had found a big line of rope, and they used that to connect each other. And he would go use that big Marine voice to keep the men alert as much as possible. And he swam throughout the group from man to man, really doing everything he could to help keep them alive and to keep their morale up. Captain Parke, along with Father Conway, put all their energy into keeping men alive as long as they could. In the ordeal in the water, Captain Parke and Father Conway ultimately gave up their own lives to save others."