USS Reuben James sunk by sub! (10-31-41)

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The Pittsburgh Press (November 14, 1941)

Reuben James sinking witness here to speak

Convoy under attack three days, newspaperman says

The convoy which the Reuben James, the U.S. destroyer sunk by a Nazi torpedo, was helping to protect had been under attack for three days at the time the American naval vessel was sent to the bottom.

That was the report here by Major A. B. Ditton, roving newspaperman, who was aboard one of the ships in the convoy at the time.

He is here for a lecture at Carnegie Music Hall.

Major Ditton, who served in the British Army in the last war, although American-born, said he was pacing the deck of his ship at the time the James was struck. He added:

The Reuben James was visible on the horizon. Then there was a terrible explosion. Then there was nothing but the intense activity of the destroyer going after the submarine. We have been under attack for three days when this happened and the destroyers did a darn good job of keeping the submarines off.

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22

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (November 24, 1941)

Reuben James chief is honored

New York, Nov. 23 (AP) –
Donation of an ambulance to the British American Ambulance Corps in memory of Commander Heywood L. Edwards of the American destroyer Reuben James was announced today.

Commander Edwards was among those lost when the Reuben James was torpedoed off Iceland October 31.

William V. C. Ruxton, Corps president, said the ambulance was donated by residents of Norfolk, Va., Commander Edwards’ former home.

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23

The Pittsburgh Press (November 25, 1941)

‘Mack Sennett bathing beauties’ –
Destroyer sinking places Pittsburgher in command

New York, Nov. 25 (UP) –
Survivors of the U.S. destroyer Reuben James told today how they joked and called each other “Mack Sennett bathing beauties” while awaiting rescue in the chilly North Atlantic after the sinking of their vessel by a Nazi torpedo with a loss of all but 45 of the officers and crew.

The torpedo crashed into the thinly-armored side of the old World War I destroyer near the bridge on the morning of Oct. 31 and she sank less than an hour later, the survivors said.

They were landed at the Brooklyn Army Base yesterday from the auxiliary naval vessel Algorab and transferred immediately to the receiving ship Seattle pending new assignments.

100 men and officers were lost when the destroyer sank.

43 of the survivors arrived yesterday and the other two are en route, Third Naval District headquarters said. All who arrived were said to be “able bodied” and in “good health.”

Chief Petty Officer William Henry Bergstresser, 35, of Pittsburgh, found himself the only remaining officer when he rushed to the deck from the engine room after feeling and hearing the rending explosion of the torpedo.

Bergstresser is a native of the Homewood District. He lived in Ventura, Cal., for a time before joining the Navy.

Bergstresser said:

I went up and saw the forward part of the ship was completely demolished and carried away, bridge and all.

He attributed the loss of all the ship’s officers to the fact the torpedo hit the forward half of the ship, near the bridge and officers’ quarters. His station in the engine room is nearer the stern.

The gunner’s mate on the destroyer’s No. 6 gun told him that none of the officers nor anyone else in the forward part of the ship had been saved and that he was in command.

Mr. Bergstresser said:

We lowered the life raft and then, not knowing whether we would be in contact with any other ship or how long we would be there, jumped overside and climbed aboard the raft.

We had six crafts on the ship but three were carried away as well as the crew lifeboats.

We had plenty of rafts, however, as each of the rafts could carry 25 men.

Lauds captain

Bergstresser said that it was due to the foresight of the destroyer’s captain, Lt. Com. H. G. Edwards, that more men were not lost.

Mr. Bergstresser said:

He had all hands issued life jackets and instructions to carry them with them at all times so that if anything happened, nobody would be isolated.

He said approximately 20 minutes elapsed after the launching of the life rafts before the Reuben James sank.

He explained:

When the Reuben James went down, we felt bad because up to that time the ship was nearby in the water and we felt we had company.

After it went down, we felt all alone – like we were lost.

The fellows were cheerful though and a lot of them were joking, calling each other Mack Sennett bathing beauties and accusing each other of putting their feet in the water to see if it was cold before they jumped.

Blinded by oil

Oil in the water from the destroyer blinded them when they first leaped into the sea, the survivors said, and they were also hampered by quantities of floating wreckage, bedding and other ship’s fittings.

The men said a naval rescue vessel appeared about 20 minutes after the Reuben James sank and that they remained on that ship for two days.

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24

100 officers, men lost in torpedoing

Washington, Nov. 25 (UP) –
The Navy announced today that a final check disclosed that 100 officers and men died as a result of the torpedoing of the destroyer Reuben James and that 45 were rescued.

The Navy said that Victor F. Krystynak (F1c), who had been listed as lost in early announcements of the sinking, was not aboard at the time of the disaster. He was transferred to a naval hospital for treatment a short time before the destroyer left port, the Navy explained.

Krystynak is the son of Anthony B. Krystynak, Hooverson Heights, Follansbee, W. Va. He enlisted Oct. 19, 1939, at Pittsburgh.

All of the 45 rescued men were enlisted personnel. All seven of the officers on the ship perished, along with 93 enlisted men.

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