USS Indianapolis CA-35
Lost At Sea

Name: Toney Wade BENNETT
Rank / Rating: ST3-Steward Third Class
Service #: 879 66 85
DOB: Aug 04, 1912
From: Los Angeles, CA
Parents: Lilly Bennett Crawley
Went Aboard: Apr 15, 1944
Age When Ship Went Down: 32 years, 11 months, 26 days
Spouse: Reva Mae Bennett
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Jane Gwinn Goodall
Date Posted: Jul 30, 2025

Born 4 August 1912 in Victoria, Texas, Toney Wade Bennett was the third of six children born to Norman Wade Bennett (a compress laborer) and Lilly Bland Bennett. His sister, Nora Lee, was seven years older. Brother Julius was three years older. Twin sisters, Margaret and Marjorie were born when Toney was two years old. Brother J.C. was just an infant when the 1920 Census was taken. The 1930 Census reported that 18-year-old Toney worked in farm labor. By that year, his mother was reported as a single head of household who worked in a private home. Toney married Reva Mae Dean who was also from Victoria, Texas in July 1936. He was nearly 24 and Reva was 23 years old. The 1940 Census show that he owned his home.

Toney Bennett was 28 years old when he registered for the draft on 17 October 1940. He was tall and slender at the time of his enlistment. He listed his mother, Mrs. Lilly Bennett Crawley as his contact person. Before his Navy service, he worked as a general helper in private homes. According to the muster rolls of USS Indianapolis, he enlisted in the Navy on 20 November 1943 from Los Angeles, California. Bennett transferred from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Seattle, Washington, where it is likely that he attended Steward’s Mates School. He came aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) as Steward’s Mate Second Class on 15 April 1944, on the same day as shipmate Henry Jackson. Bennett was promoted to Steward’s Mate First Class on 1 July 1944, and Steward Third Class on 1 February 1945. While Bennett was at sea, his wife, Reva Mae, was living in Los Angeles. Two newspaper articles from his hometown newspaper, the Victoria Advocate, described him as missing, and later confirmed him as dead. Bennett served aboard Indy for five of her ten Battle Stars, beginning with the strategic capture and occupation of Saipan and Guam in the summer of 1944. Toney Wade Bennett was five days shy of his 33rd birthday when he perished. Reva Mae became a widow sixteen days after their ninth anniversary. Mrs. Bennett remained in the Inglewood neighborhood of Los Angeles and is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery. She passed away in February 1995 at the age of 81 years. Bennett had no known children.