U.S. Navy sailors Ryan McManus and Arianna Drew, left, lay a wreath in 2020 during the dedication of a memorial at Fort Williams to honor the 49 officers and crew killed when the USS Eagle 56 was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Cape Elizabeth in 1945. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer, file
The U.S. Navy will host a wreath-laying ceremony Tuesday to commemorate the sinking of the USS Eagle 56, a Navy patrol vessel that was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine during World War II.
Forty-nine sailors died in the sinking off the coast of Cape Elizabeth on April 23, 1945 – exactly 79 years ago Tuesday – while 13 were rescued.
The ceremony, set to begin at 11 a.m. at Fort Williams Park, will be at the plaque memorializing the USS Eagle, which is located on the south side of the Portland Head Light driveway, according to a Cape Elizabeth town news release.
The sinking occurred during the waning days of World War II, with the Germans surrendering just two weeks later, on May 7, 1945. Japan surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945, ending World War II.
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