THE SINKING OF THE USS CONESTOGA
On Good Friday, 1921, the USS Conestoga was bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with a complement of 56 sailors. It cleared the Golden Gate at 3:25 p.m. and steamed into the Gulf of the Farallones in heavy seas. At 4 p.m. the Conestoga passed Point Bonita and was not heard from again. For 95 years it was believed to has sunk 2,000 miles away. In Oct. 2015, wreckage in NOAA’s Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary was confirmed to be the Conestoga.


Shipfitter Second Class


Son of architect Michael Joseph Donovan and Hortense Mary (Morgan) Donovan.

Enlisted in Meridian, Mississippi on June 17, 1918 and was discharged on August 30, 1919. He began a second term on May 25, 1920 and served on the USS Prairie and transferred to the Conestoga on February 10, 1921.


History of the USS Conestoga from the National Marine Sanctuaries

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Others Lost:
AASGAARD, Wilfred M. , Seaman Second Class
ALLEMAN, Lee Joseph , Seaman
ALLEN, Joseph Harold , Seaman
BALINT, Charles Joseph , Seaman
BENARD, Alias Steven , Coxswain
BLALOCK, Sylvester Craig , Machinist Mate
BODIE, Joseph , Seaman
BOWER, Marvin Henry , Fireman First Class
BRIGNAC, Arthur , Seaman Second Class
BURKHART, Nelson Eugene , Quartermaster Third Class
BUTLER, Henry Grady , Fireman Second Class
CRABTREE, Russell R. , Third Class Fireman
DAVIS, Joe Earle , Engineman Second Class
DEPIANTE, Charles , Electrician Third Class
DILL, William Jesse , Engineman First Class
DONOVAN, William Joseph , Shipfitter Second Class
FLYNN, James , Water Tender
FRANCE, William Rudolph, Fireman First Class
GOODIN, Edward Bernard Anthony , Second Machinist Mate
HOFFSES, Roy Evart , Boatswain, Ordinance Officer
JENSEN, Hans , Fireman Second Class
JOHNSON, William Walter , Fireman First Class
JONES, Ernest Larkin , Lieutenant, Commanding Officer
KALER, George Franklin , Chief Machinist's Mate
KORTIS, Edwin Peter , Seaman
KREUTER, Joseph Matthew , Yeoman First Class
LAVERICK, Eryle Bond , Fireman Third Class
LIISBERG, Theodore Marius , Machinist's Mate Second Class
LISCOMB, Louis Arthur , Machinist, Engineering Officer
MANCHESTER, William Thomas , Quartermaster Third Class
MARCHIONE, Louis Anthony, Fireman Third Class
McILWAIN, Clarence Leroy , Seaman
McKEIGH, Martin Phillip , Quartermaster First Class
McNETT, Perry Lee , Machinists' Mate First Class
MURRAY, Willie Oblige , Ships's Cook Third Class
PEARL, Wallace , Mess Attendant Third Class
PLUMMER, Wendell , Seaman Second Class
POWELL, John Wesley , Chief Carpenter's Mate
POWERS, Tony , Fireman First Class
QUINN, Thomas Cleary , Pharmacist's Mate First Class
REILLY, John Leo , Electrician
REINBOLD, Harvey Herbert , Boatswain, Executive Officer
SCHOENFELD, Bernhardt W. , Seaman Second Class
SHETZLINE, Joseph Lawrence , Fireman Second Class
SHOOK, Fred , Seaman Second Class
SHUE, Harry Benjamin , Ship's Cook Third Class
STANDLEY, Wilbur , Ship's Cook Third Class
TOMS, Bledsoe Sherman , Fireman First Class
TOWERY, Arber Bryan , Ship's Cook Fourth Class
WALLACE, William Raymond , Gunner's Mate First Class
WESTOVER, Charles Ingerson , Chief Water Tender
WHITE, Hugh William , Coxwain
WILLIAMS, Benson Charles , Gunner's Mate Third Class
WILSON, Edward , Mess Attendant First Class
WOOTEN, James Monroe Jr. , Hospital Apprentice First Class
ZIMMERMAN, Elias Melvin , Chief Boatswain's Mate
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