Name: Winston Cooper MITCHELL
Rank / Rating: S1-Seaman First Class
Service #: 956 79 39
DOB: Jul 16, 1918
From: Kansas City, MO
Parents:
Went Aboard: Dec 01, 1944
Age When Ship Went Down: 27 years, 0 months, 14 days
Spouse:
Children: Robert Winston Mitchell
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Aubrey Mitchell (Great Granddaughter)
Date Posted:

Aubrey Mitchell is a Great Granddaughter of Seaman First Class Winston Cooper Mitchell. Aubrey prepared and submitted the following Bio of her great grandfather in conjunction with being considered for a USS Indianapolis Gwinn "Angel" Scholarship:

Aubrey's Great Grandfather, Winston Cooper Mitchell, did not survive the sinking. Like many other families of those lost at sea, little is known about the exact details of what happened to him: did he go down with the ship, or did he make it into the water, only to succumb before the men were spotted and rescued? The final mission that put the ship in harms way, and how they were rescued, all in an effort to become more aware of her Great-Grandfather's experience. Her Great Grandfather was 27 years of age when he died in the sinking. Mitchell was married and had a two year-old son at the time. He was a Seaman 1st Class. His role on the ship, she believes, was fire control, specifically the long range guns. Aubrey characterizes him as a brave man who was willing to risk his life for our country and our freedom. His death, she says, was not in vain, but his loss left a huge impact on their family, something that is still felt almost 80 years and three generations later. Aubrey's grandfather, Robert Winston Mitchell, was a young child left without a father, shortly after his father was reported as lost at sea, the boy, and his mother lost their housing, and hard times became more difficult. The toddler’s mother turned to alcohol to help cope. Eventually, she married, but her new husband was not a good father figure. Young Robert left the home at age 16, got married at 17, became a father himself shortly after. Aubrey wrote that the family’s early struggles, which started with the loss of life of Seaman Mitchell, had an effect on each of the generations that followed, a cycle which she plans to work hard throughout her life to break free from. Aubrey stated I can never repay all the people who gave their lives during World War II to protect our country. Although my family has experienced great loss and struggles because of my great grandfather's death, I will always honor his sacrifice for our country.