Because the U.S. entered WWI late (04/06/1917), Navy ships never engaged directly with the German fleet. The first U.S. victory (of sorts), off Mine Head in Ireland, occurred when a German U-boat (U-61) fired a torpedo at the USS Cassin and the crew kept the Cassin afloat, i.e., a “victory” in that, while we didn’t win, at least we didn’t lose the ship. Over the course of the war, German U-boats destroyed 5,000 Allied vessels but only 199 Germans submarines were lost, an alarming 25:1 ratio of losses. Read more about WWI history and its effect on immigrant families back home in On the Shore (see NOVELS).
