After the sinking of the Reuben James, FDR issued a "shoot-on-sight" order against submarines, essentially an undeclared war.
Wilmington's connection to the Reuben James
James Chadbourn Stewart of Wilmington raised three daughters. Elizabeth married Robert Ellis and Almeda married Heywood Edwards, both marriages in 1935.
Both Robert Ellis and Heywood Edwards were 1926 Naval Academy classmates. In 1941, Ellis commanded the destroyer USS Schenck and Edwards the Reuben James. Both ships were homeported in Newport, Rhode Island.
The sisters, mother and Elizabeth's daughter lived there.
The Schenck was patrolling near the James when it was sunk.
They later returned to Wilmington and joined the Red Cross.
Later in the war, the United States added the new destroyer Heywood L. Edwards to its fleet. It served in the Pacific Theater.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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