INDIANAPOLIS -- Don McCall was more than pleasantly surprised to hear that a stretch of interstate highway around Indiana's capital is going to be named after the ship that he jumped from as it sank into the Pacific at the end of World War II.

"How about that? It just come out of the clear blue sky. It's quite an honor," said the 86-year-old Champaign man. "I'm really happy to represent the guys who aren't going to be there and the ones who never made it there in the first place. It makes me real proud."

On Thursday, McCall, Art Leenerman of Mahomet, and three other survivors of the USS Indianapolis, sunk in 1945 by Japanese torpedoes, will visit the Indiana General Assembly. At the capital they will be presented with a copy of a resolution passed by the Legislature in March that renames Interstate 465, a bypass around Indianapolis, to the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway.

Shortly after delivering the components for the atomic bomb that would bring a swift end to the war, the Indianapolis was hit by Japanese torpedoes on July 30, 1945.

About 880 men of the approximately 1,200 aboard the ship went into the shark-infested waters, where they floated helplessly for four days and nights before their miraculous discovery. By the time rescuers arrived, only 317 were alive.

It took years before the story of their harrowing ordeal was fully revealed.

Today, only 53 of the men are living. Earl Riggins, 86, of Oakland, was one of the 39 Marines aboard the ill-fated ship. He died in February, unaware of the effort to keep alive the memory of the worst open sea tragedy in U.S. history.

"Heroism is the trait of courageous, modest individuals who would never consider themselves to be worthy of such a title," said Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, one of the sponsors of the resolution.

"The survivors of the USS Indianapolis reflect heroism by these very qualities. They sadly remember and honor those who died more than herald their own remarkable story of endurance and horror. Yet, the truth is every man on that ship was a hero, including the survivors who deeply inspire each of us."

Both Leenerman, 86, and McCall, said they were surprised about the highway renaming, learning about it when they received letters in the mail last week inviting them to the Indiana capital on Thursday.

"We're excited," said Leenerman.

He and his wife Ethel will make the trip to Indianapolis with McCall and his daughter, Peggy Campo of Urbana.

Also expected to be present are survivors Jimmy O'Donnell of Indianapolis; Donald Beaty of Angola, Ind., and Richard Thelen of Lansing, Mich.; and Paul Murphy, chair of the survivors organization.