The casualties were astounding, and the death toll rattled the battled-hardened crews of the rescue ships. Of the 1,196 crew members who had sailed from Guam, only 321 had survived the torpedoing and long ordeal at sea. Of the ship’s 81 officers, 67 had been lost, and 808 of the enlisted crew had perished. In less than a week, four more would die in military hospitals, reducing the total number of survivors to 317. Of the nearly 900 men who died, it’s probable that 200 were victims of shark attack, an average of 50 men a day.32
