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| Navy Academy graduate Ensign John Doneff served on the cruiser USS Pensacola at the Battle of Tassafaronga. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pensacola_(CA-24) |
John was born on February 12, 1920 in Newark, Ohio. His parents Chris and Valeria were born in Macedonia and Austria, respectively. His father worked as proprietor of a grocery store and as a baker. John had one older sister and one younger brother. He graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in Newark, and attended Denison University before being accepted into the US Naval Academy in 1939.
Nicknamed "Bucket" at the Academy, John and the rest of the class of 1943 graduated a year early on 19 June 1942 due to the US entrance into World War 2. He was commissioned as an ensign and on 16 July 1942 was assigned to the heavy cruiser USS Pensacola (CA-24). Shortly after Ensign Doneff arrived aboard the Pensacola, she departed for the Solomon islands as part of the defensive screen for the US Navy aircraft carriers Saratoga, Hornet, and Wasp in support of the Marines on Guadalcanal, and carried out combat operations in the vicinity thru October. Pensacola next participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on 26 October 1942 and helped defend the task force from Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers.
On 29 November, Pensacola was part of a task force sent to intercept a Japanese destroyer-transport force expected off Guadalcanal the next night. Just before midnight on the 30th, the two opposing task forces clashed in the Battle of Tassafaronga. During the battle, a torpedo launched by a Japanese destroyer hit Pensacola on the portside resulting in flooding of her engine room, three gun turrets knocked out of commission, and raging fires from a ruptured oil tank. Only supreme effort and skillful damage control by her men saved the ship. Ensign Doneff was among the 125 on board the Pensacola killed during the battle.
Mr. and Mrs. Doneff received a letter from their son on the morning of 7 December 1942 that had been written two weeks earlier, saying that he was in fine health. That evening, they received official notification from the War Department that their son had died in performance of his duty to his country.
John Lincoln Doneff is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Marlton Gruenwald of the 37th Infantry Division. You can read about Marlton here.
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