SS W.D. Anderson — Torpedoed February 22, 1942

Stuart, Fla., Feb. 27 (UP) — Destruction in flames of the tanker W.D. Anderson and apparent loss of all but one member of the crew by enemy submarine action off the southern Atlantic coast was revealed by the Navy tonight.

The lone survivor rescued, Frank L. Terry, 23, of Lansford, PA, a wiper, estimated 34 shipmates and officers lost their lives in the sinking last Sunday night.

[The Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia issued a crew list showing that there should have been 36 men aboard, including the master, Albert B. Walters, of Upper Darby, Pa.]

The 10,227-ton tanker, built in 1921 and operated out of Philadelphia by the Atlantic Refining Co., was the 47th vessel of the United Nations known to have been attacked in waters contiguous to the east coast.

Terry, a former life guard, said he dived overboard when the first explosion came, and swam for two hours against the wind — away from the drift of blazing oil on the water — until he was rescued by E.A. Baldwin, a fisherman, who brought him ashore here.

“Five or six of us were on deck talking when the explosion came,” Terry said. “I knew we had been hit. I jumped to a railing and dove into the water. While in midair, another explosion came. There were six in all, but some might have been the boilers.”

“Fire was all around me. I started to swim but flames were getting closer. I ripped off my clothes. I saw a body floating by and grabbed it, but I couldn’t tow it.”

“The fire was getting too hot. I swam against the wind, hoping that the fire would go the other way. That’s probably what saved me.”

“I guess the rest of my buddies got killed. I don’t think they had a chance getting a boat over the side. We caught fire too fast. I never saw the submarine.”

Return to Camden, NJ — WWII Merchant Marine Memorial