Granville Conway
Encyclopedia
Captain Granville Conway (1898–1969) was born in Cambridge, Maryland
. Conway distinguished himself in maritime service and served in various positions during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, including Shipping Advisor to both Presidents and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He received the Medal for Merit in 1947. In his later years, Conway served as president of shipping companies.
in 1916. He became an experienced pilot in Chesapeake
waters and was made a Captain of the Shipping Board's Reserve Fleet Division at Norfolk, Va, in 1921. The Captain served as manager for the Shipping Board
in New London, Connecticut
, and for the Staten Island
Sound Fleet – 135 laid-up vessels of World War I
vintage – at Prall's Island
. During this period he outfitted and delivered ships for explorer Richard E. Byrd's trip to the North Pole
in 1926 and the South Pole
in 1933. In 1935 he became North Atlantic District Head of the Shipping Board, responsible for the Port of New York
. He continued with the Maritime Commission and then the War Shipping Administration
. He was named head of the War Shipping Administration in 1946.
the captain earned much of the credit for the record speed achieved in transporting men and materiel to the European Theater of operations. Working as a volunteer during WWII, he managed the shipping of all Red Cross supplies to Europe (at no cost to the organization). He himself devised a tanker deck for shipping planes without taking up other cargo space. He was responsible for secretly gathering the available ships from around the world to transport the men and machinery for the D-Day
invasion. A warm, outgoing man, he was instrumental in averting strikes by seamen's unions.
Throughout the war Captain Conway was the Shipping Counselor at the White House
and for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
. He resigned from the War Shipping Administration in the summer of 1947 to head the Cosmopolitan Shipping Company.
he served from 1946 to 1948 as coordinator of the Emergency Export Program. He shipped millions of tons of coal, grain and relief supplies in the midst of one of Europe’s worst winters and, in the words of Secretary of State Dean Acheson
“his actions prevented mass starvation in many areas and certainly enhanced our position as a great humanitarian nation.”
In 1947 he was asked by President Truman to serve on a committee of 19 private citizens headed by W. Averell Harriman
, Secretary of Commerce. The Harriman Committee analyzed the aid needs for Europe and made the specific policy recommendations which became the Marshall Plan
. Captain Conway headed the Transportation Committee.
From 1948 to 1950 he also served as Director of the Transportation Office of the National Security Resources Board
.
In 1956, at the request of the Grace National Bank
and the U.S. Department of Justice, he became President of Victory Carriers, Inc. and United States Petroleum Carriers, Inc. These companies owned and controlled the U.S. shipping interests of Aristotle Onassis
, in trust for his two American-born children, Alexander and Christina
. Under the settlement terms of a questionable criminal and civil suit brought by the United States for the "illegal" purchase by an alien of U.S. WWII ships, Onassis was required to transfer full operating control and ownership of his fleet to U.S. citizens.
At the time of Captain Conway's death in September, 1969 he was President of the Cosmopolitan Shipping Company and the Home Lines Agency and Chairman of Commercial Tankers of Liberia. Cosmopolitan owned and operated oil tankers and were agents for a number of steamship companies including the passenger ship owner and operator, Home Lines.
, Knight 1st Class by the Norwegian
Government, the Officer, Legion of Honour from France
, the Officer, Order of Leopold (Belgium) (military division), the Commander of Orange Nassau
from the Netherlands
, the Commander of the British Empire and the Medal for Merit from the U.S. President.
The Medal for Merit, the highest ranking civilian award at the time of war, was signed by President Truman on July 16, 1947 and awarded on his behalf by Conway’s good friend, Navy Under Secretary W. John Kenney in a ceremony at the Navy Building in Washington, D.C. on November 3, 1947. The Citation which accompanied the Medal for Merit stated:
GRANVILLE CONWAY, for exceptionally meritorious Conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the United States throughout the period of the recent war. Mr. Conway, who served successively as Atlantic Coast Director, Deputy Administrator, and Administrator of the United States War Shipping Administration, and as Special Expert and Special Assistant to the United States Maritime Commission, as Shipping Advisor to the President at the Yalta Conference and to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Quebec Conference, was singularly outstanding in the accomplishment of the movement of millions of tons of military cargo and millions of military personnel in vessels of the Merchant Marine. His sound judgment in cooperation with the Army and Navy Transportation services in the Allocation of available ocean shipping to the multitude of tasks facing the country both for military purposes and for the war-making capacity of the United States will always stand out in transportation history. Further, his knowledge of merchant ship capabilities and characteristics, ship operations and shipping control proved invaluable in the successful accomplishment of ocean transportation. He also rendered immeasurable assistance in the expeditious demobilization of the Army and Navy by promptly making ships available for an enormous troop lift in all theaters, thus utilizing all merchant ships to the maximum of their capabilities. In these accomplishments, Mr. Conway contributed to a most successful and outstanding transportation operation with a spirit of loyalty which is in keeping with the highest traditions of American citizenship.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
THE WHITE HOUSE
July 16, 1947.
Cambridge, Maryland
Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 12,326 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dorchester County and the county's largest municipality...
. Conway distinguished himself in maritime service and served in various positions during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, including Shipping Advisor to both Presidents and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He received the Medal for Merit in 1947. In his later years, Conway served as president of shipping companies.
Early life
In 1906 his father, Captain Edward Conway, was injured, swept off his schooner and lost in a storm near Baltimore, Maryland. The son entered the American Merchant MarineUnited States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
in 1916. He became an experienced pilot in Chesapeake
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
waters and was made a Captain of the Shipping Board's Reserve Fleet Division at Norfolk, Va, in 1921. The Captain served as manager for the Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, and for the Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
Sound Fleet – 135 laid-up vessels of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
vintage – at Prall's Island
Prall's Island
Prall's Island is an uninhabited island in the Arthur Kill between Staten Island, New York, and Linden, New Jersey, in the United States. It is one of the minor islands that are part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City...
. During this period he outfitted and delivered ships for explorer Richard E. Byrd's trip to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
in 1926 and the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
in 1933. In 1935 he became North Atlantic District Head of the Shipping Board, responsible for the Port of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He continued with the Maritime Commission and then the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
. He was named head of the War Shipping Administration in 1946.
World War II
In World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the captain earned much of the credit for the record speed achieved in transporting men and materiel to the European Theater of operations. Working as a volunteer during WWII, he managed the shipping of all Red Cross supplies to Europe (at no cost to the organization). He himself devised a tanker deck for shipping planes without taking up other cargo space. He was responsible for secretly gathering the available ships from around the world to transport the men and machinery for the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
invasion. A warm, outgoing man, he was instrumental in averting strikes by seamen's unions.
Throughout the war Captain Conway was the Shipping Counselor at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
. He resigned from the War Shipping Administration in the summer of 1947 to head the Cosmopolitan Shipping Company.
Civilian life
At the request of President Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
he served from 1946 to 1948 as coordinator of the Emergency Export Program. He shipped millions of tons of coal, grain and relief supplies in the midst of one of Europe’s worst winters and, in the words of Secretary of State Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War...
“his actions prevented mass starvation in many areas and certainly enhanced our position as a great humanitarian nation.”
In 1947 he was asked by President Truman to serve on a committee of 19 private citizens headed by W. Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
, Secretary of Commerce. The Harriman Committee analyzed the aid needs for Europe and made the specific policy recommendations which became the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
. Captain Conway headed the Transportation Committee.
From 1948 to 1950 he also served as Director of the Transportation Office of the National Security Resources Board
National Security Resources Board
The National Security Resources Board was a United States board created by the National Security Act of 1947. It was a part of Cold War Civil defense, and obviously United States Civil Defense in particular...
.
In 1956, at the request of the Grace National Bank
Grace National Bank
Grace National Bank was a bank headquartered in New York, New York. It was established as local private bank by W. R. Grace and Company in 1914 to concentrate on business done in South America. On June 19, 1924, the Grace National Bank became a nationally chartered financial institution...
and the U.S. Department of Justice, he became President of Victory Carriers, Inc. and United States Petroleum Carriers, Inc. These companies owned and controlled the U.S. shipping interests of Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
, in trust for his two American-born children, Alexander and Christina
Christina Onassis
-See also:*Christina, a song dedicated to her by artist - Patty Griffin*Christina O - the Onassis family yacht, named after Christina by her father-External links:...
. Under the settlement terms of a questionable criminal and civil suit brought by the United States for the "illegal" purchase by an alien of U.S. WWII ships, Onassis was required to transfer full operating control and ownership of his fleet to U.S. citizens.
At the time of Captain Conway's death in September, 1969 he was President of the Cosmopolitan Shipping Company and the Home Lines Agency and Chairman of Commercial Tankers of Liberia. Cosmopolitan owned and operated oil tankers and were agents for a number of steamship companies including the passenger ship owner and operator, Home Lines.
Decorations
In addition to his Merchant Marine, World War I and World War II decorations, he was awarded the Order of OlavThe Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav is a Norwegian order of chivalry that was instituted by King Oscar I of Norway and Sweden on August 21, 1847, as a distinctly Norwegian order. It is named after King Olav II, known for posterity as St. Olav. Nobility was abolished in Norway in 1821...
, Knight 1st Class by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Government, the Officer, Legion of Honour from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Officer, Order of Leopold (Belgium) (military division), the Commander of Orange Nassau
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the Commander of the British Empire and the Medal for Merit from the U.S. President.
The Medal for Merit, the highest ranking civilian award at the time of war, was signed by President Truman on July 16, 1947 and awarded on his behalf by Conway’s good friend, Navy Under Secretary W. John Kenney in a ceremony at the Navy Building in Washington, D.C. on November 3, 1947. The Citation which accompanied the Medal for Merit stated:
GRANVILLE CONWAY, for exceptionally meritorious Conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the United States throughout the period of the recent war. Mr. Conway, who served successively as Atlantic Coast Director, Deputy Administrator, and Administrator of the United States War Shipping Administration, and as Special Expert and Special Assistant to the United States Maritime Commission, as Shipping Advisor to the President at the Yalta Conference and to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Quebec Conference, was singularly outstanding in the accomplishment of the movement of millions of tons of military cargo and millions of military personnel in vessels of the Merchant Marine. His sound judgment in cooperation with the Army and Navy Transportation services in the Allocation of available ocean shipping to the multitude of tasks facing the country both for military purposes and for the war-making capacity of the United States will always stand out in transportation history. Further, his knowledge of merchant ship capabilities and characteristics, ship operations and shipping control proved invaluable in the successful accomplishment of ocean transportation. He also rendered immeasurable assistance in the expeditious demobilization of the Army and Navy by promptly making ships available for an enormous troop lift in all theaters, thus utilizing all merchant ships to the maximum of their capabilities. In these accomplishments, Mr. Conway contributed to a most successful and outstanding transportation operation with a spirit of loyalty which is in keeping with the highest traditions of American citizenship.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
THE WHITE HOUSE
July 16, 1947.