Commander Johns Hopkins Janney came from a prominent Baltimore family and is one of more than 800 American sailors who perished when the cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by the Japanese on July 30, 1945. Commander Janney was navigator on the Indianapolis and a great-great-nephew of the philanthropist Johns Hopkins, for whom the famed medical center is named.

The family lost another member in World War II. Commander Janney’s cousin, Richard Janney, a paratrooper, was killed in Sicily in 1943. He is also distantly related to the actress Allison Janney.

The sinking of the Indianapolis in the waning days of World War II was one of the worst U.S. naval losses of the war. The Indianapolis had just delivered components for the atomic bomb in a top-secret trip to the island of Tinian and was headed for the Philippines when it was attacked. It sank in minutes, and only 316 of the 1,196 men on board survived. Some who survived the blasts were killed by sharks while hoping for rescue.

Born July 10, 1913 in Baltimore, Commander Janney was the son of Thomas Symington Janney and Lucy Landon Walton Janney. His mother died in 1939. His parents were both born in Baltimore, and his father was a great-nephew of Johns Hopkins. The family lived in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore.

Commander Janney’s father was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, served as a major in the Maryland adjutant general’s office at Annapolis during World War I, and was a member of the State Home Guard during World War II. He was an executive with the M.A. Hanna Company that dealt in coal and steel. When he died in 1947 his obituary said he was known as “Captain Janney” and was a “prominent member of the Maryland National Guard.”

It’s likely that Thomas Janney’s military background had something to do with his son attending the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in the Class of 1936. The yearbook said he was known as “Jack” and described him as follows:

"Where're ya' from, mister?"

"Baltimore, sir."

"What a thing to live down."

And so it is (we are told), but fortunately Jack came here with enough equipment to make us believe his home town an asset to a man. 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. Among his numerous passions are classical music, good books, and dramatics. Asked a favor by one of his multitude of friends, he will do his utmost to carry out the request; he'll even drag blind. To all of us, the word which will best fit Jack is "gentleman." Can a finer tribute be paid any man?

After being commissioned an Ensign he progressed to the rank of Commander. He served in several sea assignments including the USS New Orleans, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 12S, USS Vincennes, and USS Perry.

At the time of his death, he was engaged to Lt. Kathleen McMurtry from a prominent family in Clovis, California. She earned a master’s degree from Stanford University and was a schoolteacher in Hawaii before joining the Navy WAVES in 1942. After the war she married another Navy officer and died in 2012 at the age of 94.

Commander Janney’s name is inscribed on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines and at the USS Indianapolis National Memorial in Indianapolis.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (www.storiesbehindthestars.org .) This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen person's name and read his/her story.

Commander Johns Hopkins Janney, Naval Academy yearbook photo 1936

Johns H Janney