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Michigan WWII Veteran's final contact with USS Indianapolis questions response to its sinking

Patricia Smith
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Patricia Smith

Francis Max Smith was born January 27th, 1924. He passed away last year on October 17.

The Scotts, Michigan farm boy was a WWII Navy Veteran. He served in the Pacific theater. A radioman, he was the last person to communicate with the U.S. Indianapolis. The ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and as you’ll hear from Smith’s daughter and the words Smith penned before his death, he carried tremendous guilt because as he, and others believe, there was more to the story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and Smith wants the truth to someday be brought to light.    

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.