Existing comment:
National Emergency
1939-1941
The United States officially entered World War II in September 1939 when the US Atlantic Fleet began conducting Neutrality Patrols off the coasts of North and South America. President Roosevelt declared a limited national emergency that authorized the voluntary mobilization of the Naval Reserve. Reserve Sailors were assigned to ships and aviation units conducting the Neutrality Patrols. As tensions mounted, all Naval Reserve Sailors not already mobilized were involuntarily recalled to active duty in 1941 and many began escorting cross-Atlantic convoys in July. USS Reuben James (DD 245) was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-552 on 31 October 1941 with the loss of 115 crewman [sic] which included eleven mobilized Naval Reserve Sailors. |