Selfless USS Indianapolis Chaplain Father Conway Finally Honored
Quint may have made the sinking of the USS Indianapolis famous, but he was never on board.
One man who was though is Lt. Thomas Conway, a Chaplain on board the doomed ship, he's now been posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
The USS Indianapolis sank after being struck by three Japanese submarine torpedoes on July 30, 1945. What happened next was immortalised in the film, Jaws, with a haunting monologue by Robert Shaw.
Three hundred men died onboard, with a further 900 men finding themselves in the water. One of those treading water was Lt. Conway, thinking of others before himself, he would swim from one group of men to another, encouraging them, inspiring them, offering baptism or last rites.
He spent three and a half days in the water, with no food, no drink, helping others. Sadly, he was unable to be helped and perished in the water before the 316 remaining survivors could be rescued.
USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Over 75 years later he has now received the Navy's second highest honour, the Navy Cross. And it has been a longtime coming, something which the Navy remorsefully apologised for during the dedication.
The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.
According to a 2018 report in The Associated Press, the Navy was unable to award the Chaplain the Navy Cross because no senior officers he served with were alive to endorse the bid, something which was officially required by Navy rules. Well, now that wrong has been made right.
Father Conway enlisted in the Navy in September 1942 and served at several naval stations along the East Coast before transferring to the Pacific Fleet.
At a ceremony at Lt. Thomas Conway’s church in Waterbury, Conn., Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite said: “Today, ladies and gentleman, the Navy is here, I am here, to say that we are sorry. We are sorry for not recognizing the heroism, the dedication, and the valor of one of our own.”
“But I am here today to correct the record and to right a wrong. And I’m also here to send a message that we shall never forget."
Words by Dean Newman
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