Konowal was born to a peasant family on 25 March 1887 in Kutkivtsi, in the Podolia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) near the border with Austria-Hungary.

Departing from Vladivostok, Konowal crossed the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver, British Columbia, and continued working as a feller, gradually making his way east.

[7][8] Konowal did not attempt to flee the scene; when police came, the First World War veteran stated, "I've killed fifty-two of them, that makes the fifty-third."

Veterans rallied to his cause and raised enough money to bail Konowal in October 1919; the trial ended up being postponed three times, finally beginning in 1921.

After extensive tests, it was discovered that Konowal had serious medical problems stemming from his war wounds: pressure on his brain was increasing and his condition was continually deteriorating.

Medical experts unanimously agreed that a wartime gunshot wound to the head was likely making Konowal mentally unstable, causing flashbacks to the war's battles.

[2] Unfortunately, tragedy struck once again when Konowal attempted to contact his family: his wife had died during the Soviet famine of 1932–1933 (the Holodomor) and his daughter was nowhere to be found, though it was later reported she survived and left descendants.

[2] In 1956, he joined 300 other Victoria Cross recipients in London for events celebrating the honour's centennial, hosted by then British Prime Minister Anthony Eden and Queen Elizabeth II.

The shop owner believed the decoration was a fake, as it was inscribed with "For Valour" – evidently not realizing that all VCs awarded to Canadians had the English motto.

A British collector discovered the auction and notified Lubomyr Luciuk, co-author of a booklet about Konowal, who took steps to have the decoration secured.