Rev. Thomas Conway was lost at sea in the torpedoing of the Ship USS Indianapolis. He eventually was a recipient of the Navy Cross. This memorial is a cenotaph*.
Rev. Thomas Conway was aboard the ship the Indianapolis which was torpedoed and sunk after having delivered the Atomic Weapons which were dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War. He was considered a hero because he organized prayer groups and encouraged survivors of the attack on his ship. They were in the water for four days before they were discovered.
Father Conway died on the third day and was remembered. One survivor said: "Father Conway was successful in his mission to provide spiritual strength to all of us. He made us believe that we would be rescued. He gave us hope and the will to endure. His work was exhausting and he finally succumbed in the evening of the third day. He will be remembered by all of the survivors for all of his work while on board the 'Indy' and especially three days in the ocean."
Father Conway studied for the Priesthood at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara University in Niagara Falls and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York in his home diocese of Worcester Mass. on May 26, 1934.
He was assigned as assistant at several parishes in the City of Buffalo before enlisting in the Navy: St Rose of Lima, All Saints, St Teresa, St. Nicholas and finally St. Brigid. Former parishioners recall that Father Conway's favorite pastime was to navigate Lake Erie in his little sailboat, a common sight parked along side the rectory during the week. He is remembered as a priest in touch with and sympathetic to the blue-collar realities of his parishioners living among the Erie Canal neighborhoods.
More of his story can be found at:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16455
Rev. Thomas Conway was aboard the ship the Indianapolis which was torpedoed and sunk after having delivered the Atomic Weapons which were dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War. He was considered a hero because he organized prayer groups and encouraged survivors of the attack on his ship. They were in the water for four days before they were discovered.
Father Conway died on the third day and was remembered. One survivor said: "Father Conway was successful in his mission to provide spiritual strength to all of us. He made us believe that we would be rescued. He gave us hope and the will to endure. His work was exhausting and he finally succumbed in the evening of the third day. He will be remembered by all of the survivors for all of his work while on board the 'Indy' and especially three days in the ocean."
Father Conway studied for the Priesthood at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara University in Niagara Falls and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York in his home diocese of Worcester Mass. on May 26, 1934.
He was assigned as assistant at several parishes in the City of Buffalo before enlisting in the Navy: St Rose of Lima, All Saints, St Teresa, St. Nicholas and finally St. Brigid. Former parishioners recall that Father Conway's favorite pastime was to navigate Lake Erie in his little sailboat, a common sight parked along side the rectory during the week. He is remembered as a priest in touch with and sympathetic to the blue-collar realities of his parishioners living among the Erie Canal neighborhoods.
More of his story can be found at:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16455
Rev. Thomas Conway was lost at sea in the torpedoing of the Ship USS Indianapolis. He eventually was a recipient of the Navy Cross. This memorial is a cenotaph*.
Rev. Thomas Conway was aboard the ship the Indianapolis which was torpedoed and sunk after having delivered the Atomic Weapons which were dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War. He was considered a hero because he organized prayer groups and encouraged survivors of the attack on his ship. They were in the water for four days before they were discovered.
Father Conway died on the third day and was remembered. One survivor said: "Father Conway was successful in his mission to provide spiritual strength to all of us. He made us believe that we would be rescued. He gave us hope and the will to endure. His work was exhausting and he finally succumbed in the evening of the third day. He will be remembered by all of the survivors for all of his work while on board the 'Indy' and especially three days in the ocean."
Father Conway studied for the Priesthood at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara University in Niagara Falls and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York in his home diocese of Worcester Mass. on May 26, 1934.
He was assigned as assistant at several parishes in the City of Buffalo before enlisting in the Navy: St Rose of Lima, All Saints, St Teresa, St. Nicholas and finally St. Brigid. Former parishioners recall that Father Conway's favorite pastime was to navigate Lake Erie in his little sailboat, a common sight parked along side the rectory during the week. He is remembered as a priest in touch with and sympathetic to the blue-collar realities of his parishioners living among the Erie Canal neighborhoods.
More of his story can be found at:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16455
Rev. Thomas Conway was aboard the ship the Indianapolis which was torpedoed and sunk after having delivered the Atomic Weapons which were dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War. He was considered a hero because he organized prayer groups and encouraged survivors of the attack on his ship. They were in the water for four days before they were discovered.
Father Conway died on the third day and was remembered. One survivor said: "Father Conway was successful in his mission to provide spiritual strength to all of us. He made us believe that we would be rescued. He gave us hope and the will to endure. His work was exhausting and he finally succumbed in the evening of the third day. He will be remembered by all of the survivors for all of his work while on board the 'Indy' and especially three days in the ocean."
Father Conway studied for the Priesthood at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara University in Niagara Falls and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York in his home diocese of Worcester Mass. on May 26, 1934.
He was assigned as assistant at several parishes in the City of Buffalo before enlisting in the Navy: St Rose of Lima, All Saints, St Teresa, St. Nicholas and finally St. Brigid. Former parishioners recall that Father Conway's favorite pastime was to navigate Lake Erie in his little sailboat, a common sight parked along side the rectory during the week. He is remembered as a priest in touch with and sympathetic to the blue-collar realities of his parishioners living among the Erie Canal neighborhoods.
More of his story can be found at:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16455
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from New York.
