“The Sinking of the Reuben James“ by The Kingston Trio

Folk song about the first American ship sunk in World War II. The USS Reuben James was the first American ship sunk in World War II, on October 31, 1941. Although the United States was officially neutral at the time, President Roosevelt had ordered the Navy to provide support to the United Kingdom in her fight against Nazi Germany. The Reuben James was escorting military material when she was torpedoed by a German submarine. Woody Guthrie, at the time singing with Pete Seeger