Sailors Speak Of Hardships Near The End Of World War 2

Throughout the War, Michael Kuryla endured many hardships aboard the naval vessel USS Indianapolis. The last hardship was after he and the rest of the crew completed a mission vital to a turning point in the war.

In July of 1945, Kuryla and the rest of his crew mates delivered parts of the atomic bomb named "little boy" to Tinian Island where it was assembled and later dropped on Hiroshima. But, on July 30th, on their way back from the mission, a Japanese submarine attacked the vessel and sank it, killing eight hundred and eighty men and leaving 317 stranded in the ocean for 4 days and 5 nights.

63 years later, Kuryla still recollects the scene like it was yesterday, speaking at on many occasions, of the disasters that took place and then men who died serving their country.

According to Courant.com, Kuryla said, "People should know what happened near the end of the war when we delivered the atomic bomb. I hope they remember that freedom is not free, that men gave their lives for us, for what we have today." Many people urged Kuryla to speak up about what happened to try to show people how much men in the military sacrifice for their country. "There's 880 guys out there that died and they can't talk about it, but you can,'" Kuryla said.

His speech includes everything from the ships purpose before the war and its combat engagements during the war to the men floating in the water and also being attacked by sharks.

According to Kuryla, it was very difficult to talk about the incidents in the beggining but now it is much easier. Also, many of the men have reunions with the remaining 70 survivors. To make peace, he and other veterans took a trip to see Japanese veterans and make peace with them. According to Kuryla, "We made peace, we hugged the Japanese. It felt good to get that hate out of me."







Doors for the event open at 6 p.m., and tickets are $10 for museum members and $15 for the general public.



Tickets can be reserved by calling the museum, 36 Perimeter Road, at 860-623-3305.



Kuryla also will appear at the West Springfield Collector Show, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, Mass., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.