John Martin Conaway (September 30, 1892–October 21, 1955)

By James Stoddard and Jonathan Arnold

Early Life

On September 30, 1892, John Martin Conaway was born in Wellsburg, WV to Glenn and Eliza Conaway.¹ John had an older brother, William (1890), and a younger sister, Clara Bell (1894).² In 1896, John suffered the loss of his mother, Eliza.³ Glenn Conaway, like many widowers of his era, remarried soon after his wife’s death. Glenn married Lenora Cusick in Brooke County, WV on April 7, 1897.⁴ The Conaway family grew with the birth of John’s brother Paul Leroy in 1898, and John’s sister Ruth Ann on June 23, 1900.⁵ Tragically, however, their father, Glenn, passed away the day after Ruth’s birth.⁶

According to the 1900 Federal Census, the family separated shortly after Glenn’s death; Lenora may not have been able to provide for four children without her husband’s income. Lenora and her two children, Paul and Ruth, stayed in Brooke County, but moved in with Lenora’s parents.⁷ John’s sister, Clara Bell, went to live with her maternal grandparents in Belmont County, OH.⁸ Sadly, she died due to illness in 1913.⁹ We are not sure if John joined his sister in Ohio, or if he lived with other relatives. He reappeared in the historical record, in 1911, living in Detroit, MI.¹⁰ We are not sure what he was doing in Detroit at the time.

Military Service

On April 6, 1917, the US entered World War I. A few weeks later, John enlisted in the Army and began training with the Air Service. He trained as a chauffeur, eventually attaining the rank of Chauffeur 1st Class.¹¹ He was attached to the 109th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, TX. The 109th served as a repair and support squadron for the air service. Instead of aircraft, the unit contained vehicles and equipment used to move, supply, and maintain flying squadrons.¹² Vehicles, like aircraft, were a new aspect of warfare and required specialized training to operate them in the field.¹³ As a chauffeur, John most likely drove trucks that towed and supplied aircraft. Sometime that same year, John married Catherine Jeffrey. She was born in East St. Louis, IL on February 3, 1899.¹⁴ They must not have been married long before he was deployed to Europe.

On December 7, 1917, the 109th Aero Squadron departed for Europe. The unit left from Long Island, NY for New Brunswick, Canada. They sailed aboard the SS Tuscania and, on Christmas Day, anchored off the coast of Liverpool, England. On December 29, 1917, the 109th crossed the English Channel for Le Havre, France and arrived the following day.¹⁵ In February 1918, the unit was re-designated as the 803rd Aero Squadron (Repair). John and the 803rd were stationed at the Air Service Production Center #2 at the Romorantin Aerodrome, pictured here, located about sixty miles south of the city of Orleans in France’s Loire River valley. From that location, the 803rd and many other repair squadrons assembled, maintained, and supported aircraft operations.¹⁶ Once the war ended on November 11, 1918, the 803rd was assigned to convoy duty. These convoys transported US soldiers and equipment to French ports for their return home. John received an honorable discharged from the US Army Air Service on January 31, 1919.¹⁷

Map of Air Service Production Center #2

On January 30, 1920 Catherine gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, Dorothea Elizabeth.¹⁸ John re-enlisted in the US Army Air Service on December 15,1920 as a Private. Once again, he was assigned to the newly re-formed 109th Aero Squadron. Which had re-activated on January 17, 1921. On June 18, 1921, Catherine gave birth to a second daughter, Mary Catherine.¹⁹ John received a second honorable discharge on December 21, 1921.²⁰ John’s unit is still active today. It is now a part of the Minnesota Air National Guard, serving in the 133rd Airlift Wing as the 109th Airlift Squadron. With nearly one-hundred years of service, the 109th is the oldest unit within the Minnesota Air National Guard.²¹

Post-Service Life

While we do not know exactly when or why, by 1924, John and Catherine’s marriage had ended in divorce. On November 11, 1924, John married Rhoda E. Spicket.²² By 1930, John and Rhoda lived in Colorado with their son, William (1925). John worked as a machinist in a steel mill and Rhoda worked for the US Postal Service. The family also housed a boarder by the name of Geraldine.²³ By 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, the Conaway family returned to Detroit, MI. Like so many during this period, John did not have stable employment. In 1935, the US unemployment rate hovered between fourteen and twenty percent. Long-term unemployment, that is being unemployed for longer than one year, was very common as well. In some areas, sixty-three percent of those unemployed fit into this category.²⁴ As a result, even though Rhoda continued her work with the Postal Service, they likely had to move in with John’s uncle, John Martin, to make ends meet.²⁵

As late as 1940, the Conaways and the Martins continued to deal with the effects of the Great Depression. John was still unemployed, and even though he received a small pension, Rhoda remained the family breadwinner.²⁶ In 1942, after the US entered the Second World War, John registered for the “Old Man’s Draft,” as seen here. ²⁷ This registration was for men born between 1877 and 1897. It provided the government with the option of quickly drafting experienced and trained personnel to fill necessary military and civilian positions.²⁸ At the time, John was fifty years old and still unemployed. The registration served as an inventory of manpower resources, as none of these men were called into service during the war.²⁹

Image of John Conaway’s “Old Man’s Draft” Card

It is unclear why, but on February 21, 1950, John and Rhoda divorced. A few months later, John married Grace E. Shields on June 15, 1950 in Detroit, MI. Grace, born in 1906, came from in Steubenville, OH.³⁰ In 1952, John and Grace moved to St. Petersburg, FL.³¹ Unfortunately, we know little about their time in Florida. John passed away on October 21, 1955, just a few years after they moved south.³² John was survived by his wife Grace, his children William, Dorothea, and Mary, and his brother Paul.³³ John Martin Conaway is buried in Bay Pines National Cemetery in Section 23, Row 3, Site 20.³⁴