The Navy Blue It

In an article by Scott Neuman from NPR, Neuman highlights an accidental seventy-year error made by the United States Navy History. Clarence Donnor was assigned, and recorded as aboard the USS Indianapolis as a "U.S. NavyRadio Technician 2nd Class", moments before the ship departed and was later sunken by a Japanese submarine, resulting in a tragic 1,195 fatalities. Donnor's family received news of their loss, but before they grieve, they received word from Clarence himself. Minutes before departure, Clarence Donnor was given new orders, and left the ship before departure. The Donnor family notified the Navy of Clarence's physical state, and they quickly changed the record to Clarence as a survivor of the tragedy. However, this error was not found until seventy-years later, as Clarence belonged to neither a list of survivors, or a list of fatalities, as he was never aboard during the attack from the Japanese.