Veteran and Tarleton State University Alumnus Loel Dene (L.D.) Cox was honored by the J-TAC and Agriculture department last night after he spoke about his time at Tarleton as well as his experiences in the Navy. Cox is one of only 317 survivors of the USS Indianapolis explosion during World War II.

“On weekends, I would drive home [from Tarleton] and I would see billboards on the side of the road that said ‘See the world, find a girl in every port, join the Navy’ so I thought that was for me,” Cox said.

Cox shared several stories about working as a crew member on the heavy cruiser and his watch post in the crow’s nest as the USS Indianapolis sailed waters surrounding Hawaii, Japan and Guam. During this time, Cox was transferred from a division seven cleaning crew member to the navigation division stationed in the steering and engine room aboard the ship.

“I saw the flag being raised at Iwo Jima by the Marines in the famous picture taken by Joe Rosenthal,” Cox said. ” We also picked up an unmarked crate in San Francisco that was heavily protected by officers and soldiers. We delivered it to Tinian near Guam and didn’t find out until after that it housed Little Boy, the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.”

Cox was also one of the 317 survivors after the USS Indianapolis was sunk in the waters surrounding Guam. The ship sank in 12 minutes, taking 880 lives of Navy men and Marines who were on board.

“We floated in life vests for five days and five nights with no food or water, surrounded by sharks,” Cox said. “We prayed for night to get a break from the blistering heat of the sun, but when night came we prayed for the sun to come back and warm up the freezing water. Men around me lost their heads from the conditions. Some would swear they saw land that wasn’t there and others would try to drink the sea water thinking it was from the fountains on the ship.”

Cox was rescued by the USS Bassett and was taken to a hospital in the Philippines to treat his injuries. He was later taken to a Navy hospital in Guam. It was here that he learned that his home in Sidney, TX had burned down, causing his father to sustain third degree burns.

“I was given emergency leave one day before I was supposed to be discharged so I could get to the hospital to see my father,” Cox said. “I worked on our farm and went back to Tarleton to get my certificate while he recovered.”

At 87 years old, Cox has been to several reunions for the survivors of the USS Indianapolis and has spoken at colleges across the country about his time in the Navy. He has also assisted The Discovery Channel in their search for the sunken ship, which was televised in the documentary “In Search of the USS Indianapolis.”

“I received a call last night from a producer for National Geographic who said Robert Ballard, one of the explorers who found the Titanic, would begin a new search for the USS Indianapolis this summer,” Cox said.

Cox has settled back into the small town life and currently lives in Comanche, TX where he says he is happy to tell his story to anyone willing to listen and is always happy to meet a fellow Tarleton Texan.

“It always makes me proud to have young people come shake my hand and thank me for my service,” Cox said. “And if any of you are ever in Comanche, come find me and we can have a cup of coffee and talk.”