The Charlotte News

Friday, October 31, 1941

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: "And a whine and a rock and the great explosions roar..." The Reuben James became the first major sinking of a United States ship in the war, resulting in the loss of 112 of 156 men.

The name of the ship is after a boatswain's mate who saved the life of Commodore Stephen Decatur in 1804 as Decatur and his men fought Barbary pirates off Tripoli.

The song about the sinking of the Reuben James was written shortly after the incident by Woody Guthrie, and became popularized first by the Weavers in 1951 and then in 1961 by the Kingston Trio, released on September 11 of that fateful year. In early 1964, it was also released by the Chad Mitchell Trio. Our favorite version was by the Trio.

As fate would have it, we conclude this month of October, 2008 on this note, with it having begun on the 1st with the death of one of the remaining three of the four original Kingston Trio members, Nick Reynolds. We say again, Adios, Farewell, and thanks for the memories. We got to see them once, in 1993, having missed them in 1960, that for the fact that we were not allowed to go for our youth. We bawled all night long. Youth, hell. We could read.

Anyhow, if you have a notion to go back and read Cash's Pulitzer Prize nominated piece from November, 1940, "Sea Fight", you will see a subtle harmonic concordance between the salt in the piece and the song about the Reuben James. But such is the sea in all men's blood, we suppose.

The page today says nothing of the sinking; perhaps tomorrow, as it was covered quite amply in the rest of the newspaper, making both the front page and a substantial inside story. Well, we'll let you read it this Halloween night and ponder the fate of the 112 who went to the bottom on that cold Iceland night, the last day of October, when they saved the 44.

If you're at all like us, and grew up listening to the Trio, you will regard the ship as nothing less than one of the great iron men to set alongside the Constitution, Old Ironsides, the Constellation, the Rawalpindi, or name them as you please--one of the all time fighting legends of the seas. Of course, except for the memorialization in song, perpetuated into the 1960's, the ship's sinking largely blended into history, eclipsed by the occurrence in the Pacific 37 days later.

Anyway, farewell to ye, captain, and we'll go skip some rope now under the piano...