Enemy Sank Ship, U.S. Now Says

For more than half a century, the Navy said a boiler was to blame for an explosion that sank the Eagle PE-56 within sight of the Maine coast, killing 49 sailors. Now the Navy is rewriting the Eagle’s record to reflect what survivors said all along: A torpedo from a German submarine sank the ship.

The new evidence was presented to Navy Secretary Gordon England, who in June ruled that the sinking was caused by enemy attack. The change means those who died or were seriously injured will get Purple Hearts.

Harold Petersen, 79, of Rochester, N.Y., one of two survivors still living, said he is gratified by the change but sorry it took so long.

The Eagle sank April 23, 1945, two weeks before Germany surrendered. The 200-foot submarine chaser was sailing off Portland, Maine, when the blast broke it apart and sent water 300 feet into the air.

The other survivor still living, John Breeze, 78, of Milton, Wash., said he saw the sub momentarily after the Eagle was hit.

No one knows why the Navy stuck with its original conclusion. It is clear Navy investigators did not have access to information, later declassified, showing a German sub was in the area.