DOB/DOD: June 17, 1919 (Bridgeport, CT) – September 24, 1942; 23 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: Fairfield
SERVICE NUMBER: Z-027901
FAMILY: Born to Harold M. (1894-1963) and Laura S. Ford Sturges (1895-1966). Two sisters, Nancy A. Sturges Powell (1922-1972) and Priscilla M. Sturges Dearborn Vars (1927-).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Jonathan F. Sturges signed on as an Engine Cadet aboard the SS John Winthrop on August 3, 1942, at Boston, shortly after the ship was completed and delivered to the War Shipping Administration. After a voyage to the United Kingdom, the John Winthrop, with its crew of 39 and fifteen Naval Armed Guard sailors aboard, sailed for Liverpool to join Convoy ON-131. On September 18, 1942, the 61 ships of the convoy, with 17 escorts, sailed into the stormy North Atlantic bound for New York. By September 21, 1942, the John Winthrop was unable to keep up with the convoy and became a straggler, the favorite prey of U-boats. For three days, the John Winthrop managed to evade detection. However, on the evening of September 24, the John Winthrop’s luck ran out. The ship was detected, stalked, and attacked by U-619, which hit the ship with five torpedoes. According to German Naval records, the John Winthrop broke into two pieces, which remained afloat. In order to finish the job, U-619 surfaced and sank the remnants of the SS John Winthrop with its deck gun. The SS Jonathan Winthrop was the only ship of the more than sixty ships in Convoy ON-131 sunk. Cadet-Midshipman Jonathan Sturges was posthumously awarded the Mariners Medal, Combat bar with star, the Atlantic War Zone Bar, the Victory Medal, and the Presidential Testimonial Letter. In addition, the Liberty Ship Jonathan Sturges was named in his honor. Jonathan F. Sturges was the only son and the oldest child of Harold M. Sturges and Laura Ford Sturges. Jonathan had two little sisters, Nancy and Priscilla. According to the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, Harold Sturges was an insurance salesman. At Roger Ludlowe High School, Jonathan was an officer of the Boys Home Economics Club and a member of the Public Health Club. According to his sister, Priscilla, Jonathan came to the sea early, including becoming a very active and involved member of the local Sea Scout Ship. Priscilla believed that her brother was destined to pursue a seagoing career that would be marked by professional achievement. She believed that, “With his interest in the sea, Jonathan had found his ‘true self’ that was the mainspring within him.” [USMMA]
The fate of U-619
Sunk on 5 October 1942 in the North Atlantic south-west of Iceland, in position 58.41N, 22.58W, by four depth charges from a British Hudson aircraft (269 Sqn RAF/N). 44 dead (all hands lost). [FDS/NHB, June 1987].