Howard P. Conway signed on aboard the SS Liberator as Engine Cadet on March 4, 1942 at New Orleans, LA. He had previously served aboard the SS Howell Lykes. Some time thereafter the ship loaded 11,000 tons of sulphur at Galveston and was bound for the Port of New York without escort. On the morning of March 19, 1942 the ship was three miles west of the Diamond Shoals buoy when it was sighted by U-332.
The fact that the Liberator was not steering an evasive course made the ship an easy target for the submarine which fired one torpedo at the ship. At 1619 GCT the torpedo hit the Liberator’s port side, destroying the engine room and killing five men, including Engine Cadet Howard P. Conway, Jr. The explosion destroyed one life boat and blew the hatch off of #4 hold. However, during the 20 minutes or so the ship remained afloat the thirty-one surviving crew members launched the rest of the lifeboats and got away from the ship. They were picked up later the same day by the Navy tug USS Umpqua (AT-25), and transported to Morehead City, North Carolina.
Cadet Conway’s fate was the first confirmation of a fatality to reach the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps schools at Kings Point and Pass Christian. At both schools he was mourned as the first cadet to die in the conflict.The mess hall at Pass Christian was later named in his honor.
Howard P. Conway, Jr. was the only child of Howard Payne and Miriam Parker Conway.The elder Conway was the Southern District Manager for Grinnell Company and also for the General Fire Extinguisher Company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Father and son often took salt water fishing trips. Howard Jr. attended Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Virginia, where he was elected Senior Prefect in recognition of
his personal integrity. After graduating from Woodberry Forest, Howard attended Williams College.
The fact that the Liberator was not steering an evasive course made the ship an easy target for the submarine which fired one torpedo at the ship. At 1619 GCT the torpedo hit the Liberator’s port side, destroying the engine room and killing five men, including Engine Cadet Howard P. Conway, Jr. The explosion destroyed one life boat and blew the hatch off of #4 hold. However, during the 20 minutes or so the ship remained afloat the thirty-one surviving crew members launched the rest of the lifeboats and got away from the ship. They were picked up later the same day by the Navy tug USS Umpqua (AT-25), and transported to Morehead City, North Carolina.
Cadet Conway’s fate was the first confirmation of a fatality to reach the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps schools at Kings Point and Pass Christian. At both schools he was mourned as the first cadet to die in the conflict.The mess hall at Pass Christian was later named in his honor.
Howard P. Conway, Jr. was the only child of Howard Payne and Miriam Parker Conway.The elder Conway was the Southern District Manager for Grinnell Company and also for the General Fire Extinguisher Company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Father and son often took salt water fishing trips. Howard Jr. attended Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Virginia, where he was elected Senior Prefect in recognition of
his personal integrity. After graduating from Woodberry Forest, Howard attended Williams College.
Howard P. Conway signed on aboard the SS Liberator as Engine Cadet on March 4, 1942 at New Orleans, LA. He had previously served aboard the SS Howell Lykes. Some time thereafter the ship loaded 11,000 tons of sulphur at Galveston and was bound for the Port of New York without escort. On the morning of March 19, 1942 the ship was three miles west of the Diamond Shoals buoy when it was sighted by U-332.
The fact that the Liberator was not steering an evasive course made the ship an easy target for the submarine which fired one torpedo at the ship. At 1619 GCT the torpedo hit the Liberator’s port side, destroying the engine room and killing five men, including Engine Cadet Howard P. Conway, Jr. The explosion destroyed one life boat and blew the hatch off of #4 hold. However, during the 20 minutes or so the ship remained afloat the thirty-one surviving crew members launched the rest of the lifeboats and got away from the ship. They were picked up later the same day by the Navy tug USS Umpqua (AT-25), and transported to Morehead City, North Carolina.
Cadet Conway’s fate was the first confirmation of a fatality to reach the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps schools at Kings Point and Pass Christian. At both schools he was mourned as the first cadet to die in the conflict.The mess hall at Pass Christian was later named in his honor.
Howard P. Conway, Jr. was the only child of Howard Payne and Miriam Parker Conway.The elder Conway was the Southern District Manager for Grinnell Company and also for the General Fire Extinguisher Company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Father and son often took salt water fishing trips. Howard Jr. attended Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Virginia, where he was elected Senior Prefect in recognition of
his personal integrity. After graduating from Woodberry Forest, Howard attended Williams College.
The fact that the Liberator was not steering an evasive course made the ship an easy target for the submarine which fired one torpedo at the ship. At 1619 GCT the torpedo hit the Liberator’s port side, destroying the engine room and killing five men, including Engine Cadet Howard P. Conway, Jr. The explosion destroyed one life boat and blew the hatch off of #4 hold. However, during the 20 minutes or so the ship remained afloat the thirty-one surviving crew members launched the rest of the lifeboats and got away from the ship. They were picked up later the same day by the Navy tug USS Umpqua (AT-25), and transported to Morehead City, North Carolina.
Cadet Conway’s fate was the first confirmation of a fatality to reach the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps schools at Kings Point and Pass Christian. At both schools he was mourned as the first cadet to die in the conflict.The mess hall at Pass Christian was later named in his honor.
Howard P. Conway, Jr. was the only child of Howard Payne and Miriam Parker Conway.The elder Conway was the Southern District Manager for Grinnell Company and also for the General Fire Extinguisher Company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Father and son often took salt water fishing trips. Howard Jr. attended Woodberry Forest Preparatory School in Virginia, where he was elected Senior Prefect in recognition of
his personal integrity. After graduating from Woodberry Forest, Howard attended Williams College.
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