USS Indianapolis Survivor Laid to Rest

Jed Boal reportingHundreds of school children in Utah knew him as "grandpa" when he told them the tale of his ill-fated World War Two battleship, the U-S-S Indianapolis.

Woody James was laid to rest today. He died in a car crash this past week.

Woody James survived four days of terror most of us could never imagine.

Woody James/August 2005 : "Of the 150 men that was in that group, 26 of us came out."

The World War Two veteran returned to the Island of Tinian with a Utah video crew last month for the 60th Anniversary of the dropping of the atom bomb.

It was also 60 years ago James went into the water of the Pacific Ocean when a Japanese torpedo sunk the U-S-S Indianapolis. The battleship had just delivered key components of the Atom Bomb soon to be dropped on Hiroshima.

About 300 men went down with the ship. James and 900 others went into the water.

What happened next was made infamous in the movie Jaws.

Woody James/August 05: "Very first light, chief, sharks come cruisin'."

James said there were hundreds of sharks. He clung to a potato crate with one of his closest shipmates.

Woody James/August 05: "Shark, shark, shark. And they came in bunches, feeding. Then there was a blood curdling scream like you never heard."

They were so close, he could reach out and touch them. Help did not arrive for four days. The sharks never left. 317 men survived.

Chris Allen/Veteran's Grandson: "He really was larger than life. Everybody loved him the minute they met him."

Chris Allen bonded with his grandfather in high school, though he never talked about the war for years.

Allen built a website to bring attention to the Indianapolis and the stories started to flow.

Chris Allen/Veteran's Grandson: "His big thing was never give up. He firmly believes that a lot of people the reason they didn't make it was they just gave up. It was a matter of will."

James' daughters say he was a hero to them. They never knew his war stories growing up.

The family says, James came to terms with that terrifying episode and was a stronger man because of it.

Chris Allen/Veteran's Grandson: "He was amazing to be around. I was always nervous about what he'd say or what he'd do. Sometimes he'd get you in trouble because he was so plain-spoken."

James died Monday on I-215 in a crash with a semi.

James once wrote he didn't want to ever go back to battle. But if he had to, even in his 80's, he would gladly serve his country again.

Woody James/August 05: "Why me? Why did I survive? My guardian angel"

Woody James was just shy of his 83rd birthday.

For much more on the story of the U-S-S Indianapolis, and a narrative in Woody's words, look for the link on the right.

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