Dick Thelen didn’t like to talk about his survival as a U.S. Navy seaman after landing in the ocean and fending off sharks for five days. That is understandable. Thelen was a young crew member on the U.S.S. Indianapolis when it was sent on a secret mission to deliver components of the atomic bomb, which would be dropped on Japan.

The ship was returning to port when it was sunk by a torpedo in 1945. Nearly 1200 men were on board and it is estimated that 900 men went in the water. The men were in the water more than 4 days and due to bureaucratic delays in sending life-saving help, only 317 men survived the horrific shark attacks and lack of water.

The are no statistics on how many men actually died from shark attacks, but from screams they heard survivors said it was numerous, perhaps more than several hundred. The situation was so horrific that Thelen didn’t even tell his wife until much later about the horrendous occurrence. He told a reporter for a local newspaper that he considered many times letting the ocean take him.

Dick Thelen was interviewed by Traverse City writer Doug Stanton for his award-winning book “In Harm’s Way,” which details the sinking and the survival.

Thelen’s family immigrated from Germany.