Gone But Never Forgotten: Ed Harrell’s Amazing Story of Survival in World War II

image credit: legacy.com

Ed Harrell was a Marine serving on the U.S.S. Indianapolis near the end of World War II when the ship was hit by Japanese torpedoes and sunk in only 12 minutes.  Ed was one of 1,200 men on the ship; 300 died when it sunk, and nearly 900 went into the water.  When rescuers finally arrived four days later, they found only 315 survivors. The rest died from heat, exhaustion, saltwater poisoning ... and a sea full of sharks.

When Bob Lepine and I talked with Ed, it was one of the most amazing interviews we ever did for FamilyLife Today. At the time, it had been 60 years since his ordeal, and yet the memory seemed amazingly fresh in his mind as he relived those four days watching his fellow soldiers perish.

This month marks the 80^th anniversary of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis on July 30, 1945, so I wanted to highlight his incredible story of courage and faith. It’s too incredible to tell quickly in a blog post, so you need to catch the two-part episode on the Inspiring Courageous Faith YouTube channel. The first part is available now, and part two is coming next week.

For this blog post I want to highlight a small part of the story—how Ed came to faith in Christ. It was August of 1943, and Ed was about to leave for Marine boot camp. He was troubled that day as he went to church. He was about to go into combat, but “I knew that my heart was not right with the Lord.”

After the service, he remained in his seat; everyone else had left the church except for the pastor, Ed’s girlfriend and her mother—they sat praying as the pastor came to talk with him. 

“I was brought up in a Christian home and Sunday school, church all the time, but really never trusted the Lord as my own personal Savior,” Ed told us. The pastor read Acts 16:31, which says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” He said, “Ed, do you believe that?”

Ed said he did.

Then the pastor said, “God, who cannot lie, is making you a promise, and He simply says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the finished work of Christ on the cross for you, and He promises to save you.” And that day, Ed trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.

One reason I tell this story here is to highlight the fact that Ed sensed He needed a relationship with God to make it through whatever ordeal he would face. That is one of the great benefits of a relationship with God; He prepares us for the trials that will inevitably come our way. 

The U.S.S. Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese torpedo on July 30, 1945. (credit: Wikipedia)

When the U.S.S. Indianapolis was sinking, Ed found himself talking with God. He watched other men jumping on each other as they desperately rushed to get off the ship, but he hung onto a ship’s rail for a little while, praying “that somehow the Lord would see me through what lie ahead.”

And as he stepped into the water, he thought of a Scripture passage, John 14:27: “Peace I give unto you, not as the world give unto you, let not your heart be troubled. Don't be afraid."  He said, “God didn't speak to me in any audible form in any way, but just the assurance that I had from repeating His Word back to my heart, I knew that He was going to care for me.” 

As Ed wrote in his book years later, the same Jesus Christ who had become his Savior was going to be the same Jesus Christ who saved him. 

Ed returned home, married his sweetheart who waited for him, and settled down to make a living and raise a family. He and his wife, Ola, were married for 71 years; they had two children, eight grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. He was a successful businessman and a member of the board of trustees for Moody Bible Institute. Until he died, he remained active telling people about his story and about his faith in Jesus Christ.

At the time of our interview, he was one of 99 survivors still alive. When he died in 2021 at age 96, only five were left ... and now all but one are gone. 

Gone but hopefully never forgotten.

And I am grateful for Ed’s courageous faith and heroic service on behalf of my family and our country.

—with Dave Boehi

If you want to hear an amazing story about faith amidst horrific circumstances, be sure to listen to the two-part series about Ed Harrell and the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis.

You can listen to the entire interview with Francis and Lisa Chan on Inspiring Courageous Faith. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.