[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 197 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 197

   Recommending the posthumous award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant 
              Thomas M. Conway of Waterbury, Connecticut.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 17, 2013

 Mr. Murphy submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recommending the posthumous award of the Navy Cross to Lieutenant 
              Thomas M. Conway of Waterbury, Connecticut.

Whereas, on July 16, 1945, the USS Indianapolis departed San Francisco carrying 
        the trigger and radioactive core for the atomic bomb Little Boy, 
        destined to be dropped on Hiroshima;
Whereas upon completing its delivery mission to Tinian Island on July 26, the 
        USS Indianapolis proceeded to Okinawa in order to join a larger naval 
        fleet in preparation for an invasion of the Japanese mainland;
Whereas in the early hours of July 30, the USS Indianapolis was critically 
        damaged by 2 torpedoes from a Japanese submarine;
Whereas the USS Indianapolis sunk as a result of the damage, killing some 300 of 
        the 1,196 sailors aboard;
Whereas most of the estimated 900 survivors relied only on their kapok life 
        jackets and belts and some did not even have that equipment;
Whereas Lieutenant (Chaplain) Thomas M. Conway and the rest of the remaining 
        crew were set adrift in the shark-infested waters with no way of further 
        notifying Navy command;
Whereas with complete disregard for his own safety, Lieutenant Conway swam back 
        and forth among terrified crew members, administered aid to them, 
        dragged loners back to the growing mass of survivors, organized prayer 
        groups, and urged the increasingly dehydrated and delirious men not to 
        give up hope of rescue;
Whereas Lieutenant Conway expired on the third day, shortly before the remaining 
        321 sailors were rescued after being spotted by Navy pilots;
Whereas the sinking of the USS Indianapolis was the single greatest loss of life 
        at sea in the history of the Navy;
Whereas the successful completion of the mission of the USS Indianapolis was 
        critical to ending World War II; and
Whereas Lieutenant Conway risked his own life in order to retrieve fellow 
        sailors and went from lifeboat to lifeboat in shark-infested waters to 
        tend to the dying and dispirited, acting in a manner far above the call 
        of duty: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors Lieutenant Conway for his heroics, which were 
        above reproach, reflect great credit upon himself, and upheld 
        the highest traditions of the U.S. Navy;
            (2) recognizes that the courageous and selfless actions of 
        Lieutenant Conway saved the lives of many of his fellow 
        sailors;
            (3) concurs that the actions of Lieutenant Conway are in 
        the spirit and tradition of the Navy Cross; and
            (4) recommends that Lieutenant Conway posthumously be 
        awarded the Navy Cross.
                                 <all>