Project 888
Name: Johns Hopkins JANNEY
Rank / Rating: CDR-CommanderService #: 77196 DOB: Jul 10, 1913 From: Baltimore, MD Parents: Thomas Symington and Lucy Landon Walton Janney Went Aboard: Sep 2, 1944 Age When Ship Went Down: 32 years, 0 months, 20 days Spouse: Children: Grandchildren: Bio Submitted By: Carl Fahnestock (Admin) |
 JANNEY, Johns H |
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 Commander Johns Hopkins Janney was born on July 10, 1913. He ultimately served just over 17 years in the United States Navy. On his last naval assignment, he went aboard USS Indianapolis CA-35 on Sept. 2, 1944 and served as the Navigator.
Janney worked desperately to save Indianapolis after she was struck by two torpedoes from Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945. He was awarded the Silver Medal posthumously. The citation read, in part, "for courage and zealous devotion to duty....."
Among his fellow officer peers and friends he was known as “Jack”. This nickname may have started in his early pre-Navy years, but it was recorded “officially” in the 1936 “LUCKY BAG” (the United States Naval Academy Yearbook). So we know that it at least referenced him throughout his naval career.
Johns Hopkins Janney’s bio in “LUCKY BAG” presented the following key information attesting to the quality of his character and military discipline:
“He had a thorough academic training and an excellent background. He showed the first qualification by standing well up in the class (he gets this stuff, but will not be called a savoir), and the second by exhibiting superior conduct.” (1)
View the “Additional Photos” section below to access and read his full entry in the 1936 “LUCKY BAG” yearbook.
As a United States Naval Academy graduate who served on board Indianapolis on that fateful last voyage, Jack joined eight other naval academy graduates who also lost their lives as a result of the July 30, 1945 sinking of the ship. The full list of Annapolis graduates who were Lost at Sea on USS Indianapolis includes:
Johns Hopkins Janney, Commander
Robert Burton Billings, Ensign
Edwin Mason Crouch, Captain
Joseph Ambrose Flynn, Commander
Robert Huntley Hurst, Lieutenant
Stanley Walter Lipski, Commander
Harold Clifton Moynelo, Jr., Ensign
Michael R. Pessolano, Lieutenant
James Douglas Spencer, Lieutenant
View the “Additional Photos” section below to see pictures and brief information on each of these nine officers. (2)
Detailed text about Janney’s role as Navigator on USS Indianapolis can be referenced by viewing an “Additional Photo" document posted below. (3)
At the time of the ship’s sinking, Jack was engaged and planning to marry Kathleen McMurtry (a Lieutenant WAVE) of Clovis, Fresno County, New Mexico upon Indianapolis' return to the United States.
View newspaper clipping in “Additional Photos” section below.
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(1) - LUCKY BAG Yearbook, United States Naval Academy, 1936 (2) - United States Naval Academy Virtual Memorial Hall, www.usnamemorialhall.org (3) - INDIANAPOLIS by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic, pps 119-121.
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