George Edward Laws was born in Springfield, Illinois, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 1, 1943. He was serving aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) when it was struck by torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945. 

Laws was blown into the air and slammed onto the ship’s deck before falling into the ocean. He soon found himself covered in fuel and tried to stay together with other survivors as they awaited rescue. 

Unaware that the Navy did not know of the torpedoing, Laws and his companions drifted for nearly five days, with many sailors perishing from exposure, dehydration, and shark attacks. 

When rescued, Laws was one of only 316 men who would survive the sinking, out of an original crew of 1,195. After the war, George got married, started a family, and worked for General Motors. He died five days before his 85th birthday.

Seaman 1st Class George E. Laws, a survivor of the attack of the Portland-class cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35), speaks with Pearl Harbor survivors Sterling Cale, Alfred Rodrigues and Herb Weatherwax at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center. Laws is one of only 317 survivors of the July 30, 1945 Japanese attack on Indianapolis. (U.S. Navy photo)

George E. Laws, a survivor of the attack on the USS Indianapolis, speaks with Pearl Harbor survivors

GEORGE EDWARD LAWS

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