42 pages • 1 hour read
Pete NelsonLeft for Dead
Nonfiction | Book | YA | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Fight for Justice
Hunter Scott’s campaign to bring justice to Captain McVay is the central tenet of this true story. The miscarriage of justice which occurred in McVay’s court-martial is first alluded to when Hunter and his father find so little information on the circumstances around the sinking of the ship at their local library. This lack of information seems immediately unusual for America’s greatest naval disaster and foreshadows the ways that many vital parts of the case were intentionally suppressed by the US navy.
Later, Hunter hears Maurice Bell’s anger at his captain’s treatment at the hands of the US navy and government. Bell’s sentiment is echoed unanimously in the questionnaires which Hunter distributed to survivors: “most [responses] were strongly worded in outrage and anger over the court-martial and conviction of their captain” (169). Hunter’s dedicated campaign to collect information and evidence leads him to discover the US navy’s cover-ups, not only of critical intelligence at the time of the sinking, but also of ignored SOS messages sent by the Indianapolis as it sank into the shark-infested waters. Hunter helped to expose the fact that the navy was more interested in finding a convenient scapegoat than it was in examining systemic flaws in naval operations. Hunter’s efforts led to legislation being introduced expressing that “Captain McVay’s court-martial had been a miscarriage of justice and never should have happened” (Preface: xx).
Hunter’s fight for justice is closely tied to his personal beliefs about American freedom and democracy. It is important to Hunter to remember and respect veterans, who “put their lives on the line” so that “all Americans can enjoy liberty” (Preface: xx). Hunter believes that the privilege of his life of freedom comes with a responsibility to respect and honor those who helped to establish and defend democracy. For this reason, Hunter is unyielding in his campaign to achieve justice for Captain McVay. Hunter’s quest for justice is satisfactorily achieved in the exoneration of Captain McVay and in the Navy offering the survivors of the Indianapolis a Navy Unit Citation.
The Horrors of War
Nelson unflinchingly tells of the horror of the sinking of the Indianapolis and the subsequent fight for survival for the hundreds of men left in the water. Nelson, like Hunter, feels that it is his duty to “illuminate the sacrifices they [the Indianapolis crew] made in the defense of freedom” (190). McCoy described the horror of hearing the men trapped below sealed hatches, destined to go down with the ship. The men were “screaming for help, calling out “don’t leave us!” as the scuttle was closed and secured shut” (63). Using other sailors’ first-hand accounts, Nelson describes the bones of men breaking as they fell onto metal fixtures on the deck of the Indianapolis, or on the metal screws on the stern, as it listed drastically to starboard.
Once in the water, Nelson documents the horror of men watching their crewmates being pulled under, screaming, as sharks tore off their limbs. Other survivors recounted seeing men dying from exposure, from drinking seawater, from violence breaking out between crewmates, or from drowning. The survivors were haunted by their experiences for the rest of their lives, with many suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, or from recurrent, terrifying nightmares.
Nelson intentionally creates connections between the horrors experienced by the crew of the Indianapolis, and individuals involved in other theaters of the war, such as the “six million Jews [who] perished in the Holocaust” (114). Nelson also details the loss of life experienced at Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the atomic bombs ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ were dropped on these cities, causing mass devastation: 130,000 were killed or injured at Hiroshima, and a further 66,000 people at Nagasaki (113). Overall, Japan suffered “1,700,000 military and 380,000 civilian fatalities” (114). Nelson cites that globally, “twenty-five million military personnel and 30,000,000 civilians died” (114). He intentionally contextualizes the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis within a global context of devastation, sending the message that war brings immense suffering and horror.
Perseverance and Determination in the face of Adversity
Perseverance and determination in the face of adversity is a pivotal theme in both the 1945 section of the story and in Hunter Scott’s modern-day campaign. The two are interconnected, as Hunter is inspired to persevere in his modern-day crusade by the incredible courage and perseverance shown by the survivors he spoke to, who endured horrific conditions in the days and nights after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.
The survivors have incredible stories of resilience in the face of unimaginable mental and physical challenges. On the third day, Moseley “was so thirsty his teeth were coming loose,” his “tongue was swollen to twice its size” (85). All of the men were unimaginably thirsty and exhausted. In many cases they were also nauseous from oil which covered their bodies, burned from fires aboard the Indianapolis or from the sun, suffering from exposure and hypothermia, or suffering from exhaustion-induced hallucinations. It is observed that “Some men broke. Some didn’t” (80). Those who didn’t tended to have memories of families or sweethearts or wives which they clung to or turned to their religious faith to survive. McCoy, for example, decided that he didn’t want his mother to “lose another son,” and so he decided that he must survive (72).
In terms of Hunter’s modern-day campaign, he was initially “heartbroken” at his history fair project’s rejection at the state level of the “Triumph and Tragedy” history competition. He felt that he had “let the men of the Indianapolis down” (Preface: xvii). The survivors were supportive in the face of his elimination and urged him not to give up. Spurred on by these inspiring men, Hunter decided that he could not give in. He continued to publicize his story nationally and globally, determinedly gathering further information in the defense of Captain McVay—information which helped him to successfully campaign for passing the resolutions which formally recognized McVay’s innocence and the survivors’ bravery.
