Menominee: The Steam Tug and Her Lost Lights! by Dorian A. Tolbert

The tug, Menominee, and its tow of three barges left Norfolk/Hampton Roads, Virginia to deliver lumber and coal to Connecticut on March 31, 1941. It crossed the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and headed north up the coast of Virginia’s Eastern shore. However, the Menominee and her barges would never arrive. The German submarine, U-754, was waiting in the waters along the Atlantic seacoast off the Eastern Shore of Virginia as the tug traveled north. The relentless attack by Captain Oestermann’s U-754 on an unarmed tug and its tow and the aftermath of that attack are the subjects of this story. Though Captain Leslie F. Haynie of Reedville, Virginia tried valiantly to outwit and to outrun the sub, the tug was no match. Sixteen Merchant Mariners on the Menominee died as a result. Historical documents, eyewitness accounts, and court proceedings were researched in order to tell this story. Interviews with family members of those on the Menominee were also conducted. The book contains interesting segments about life on the tugs and barges of the WW II era. The dangers faced by Merchant Mariners on coastwise vessels as well as ocean going vessels or “blue water” vessels were not overlooked. The proximity to the Virginia coast and the number of German subs in the Atlantic seaboard especially in the early part of WW II certainly frame this account. The secrecy about the threat as well as the extent of the German presence on the coastline imposed by the government of the United States due to wartime demands are highlighted