Waterbury - The Navy has rejected the Navy Cross for a chaplain who died ministering to sailors in shark-filled waters after a ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in World War II.

The Republican-American reported that Waterbury's Veterans Memorial Committee sought the honor for Lt. Thomas Michael Conway, a Catholic priest born in Waterbury.

The committee last year submitted documents to the Navy, including testimony from survivors, letters from Conway's family and other materials.

The Navy refuted some of the documentation and cited Navy regulations requiring those nominating sailors for awards to be of higher rank than the nominee. No survivors of the cruiser USS Indianapolis, which was torpedoed and went to the bottom in 12 minutes on July 30, 1945, meet that requirement.

Bob Dorr of the Waterbury Veterans Memorial Committee said he's disappointed. He said enlisted men appear to be precluded from making award recommendations.

- Associated Press