On Aug. 12, 1945, days after atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, the Donnors received an official telegram at their home in Big Rapids, Mich. Their son, U.S. Navy Radio Technician 2nd Class Clarence Donnor was missing in action, it said.
Although they did not know it at the time, Donnor had been listed aboard the USS Indianapolis, which had been sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea on July 30, resulting in the largest loss of life at sea in U.S. Navy history.