Reuben James

Reuben James was an American sailor who served aboard the USS Reuben James (DD-245), a Caldwell-class destroyer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. On October 31, 1941, while on convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic near Iceland, the USS Reuben James was attacked by the German U-boat U-552 and became the first U.S. Navy destroyer to be sunk during World War II, resulting in the loss of 100 crew members. The ship and its brave crew became a symbol of American sacrifice in the early stages of the war. Folk singer and composer Woody Guthrie immortalized the ship and its crew in his 1941 protest song "The Sinking of the Reuben James," which protested American neutrality and called attention to the dangers facing American servicemen. The song became an iconic work in American folk music, performed by numerous artists and generations since. Reuben James's legacy remains intertwined with American naval history and the artistic expressions that emerged from World War II.