the worst shark attack in history. Experts said sharks likely preyed on the dead and the living.

A pilot on an antisubmarine patrol spotted the survivors four days after Indianapolis sank. Radio contact between pilots and another destroyer led to the rescue of about 315 men, about a quarter of the original crew. Harrell got out of the Marines in January 1946, and married that brunette waiting back home.

After the Indianapolis sank, the captain, Charles McVay III, was accused of putting the ship and its crew in danger for not zigzagging to avoid enemy fire. The survivors disputed that accusation and in 2000 and 2001, the Navy and federal government exonerated McVay of wrongdoing that caused the deaths.

"But it was too late," Harrell said. McVay committed suicide in 1968.

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Harrell,89, lives in Tennessee with Ola, the brunette he married 67 years ago. He is one of 36 survivors still living. Two live in Florida and are in poor health, according to the survivors' organization.

It wasn't until 2005 that Harrell began telling the story of Indianapolis, and now he travels the country speaking. In part, he opened up because of the movie "Jaws," which debuted in 1975.

Harrell delayed seeing the film, fearing it would bring back bad memories of his own shark encounters. He finally watched it 30 years after its release. The movie's shark hunter, Quint, claims to be an Indianapolis survivor and tells the story of the sinking in one scene.

The blockbuster provided the catalyst for Harrell to write his first book, a nonfiction first-hand account,