Primary Source Set

World War II, Part 2: North Carolina After Pearl Harbor

After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II, leading to inevitable change for the nation and for the state of North Carolina. This part of the World War II lesson uses photographs, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and correspondence to illustrate the significant social and economic effects of the Second World War on North Carolina.

Time Period

1941-1945

Grade Level

Undergraduate

Transcript

S.S. Atlanta Sent to Bottom Monday at Cape Hatteras Latvian Ship, Ciltvaira, Also Attacked, But Location Not Discussed 46 Crewmen Missing Survivors Landed At New York, Charleston; Toll Of Lesses Mounts to Four. Washington, Jan. 21 – (AP) – Enemy submarines skulking off the Atlantic seaboard have sunk another American ship, and probably a Latvian vessel as well. The Navy announced tonight that the City of Atlanta was sent to the bottom off Cape Hatteras, N.C., early Monday morning. Later the same day, the Latvian merchantman Ciltvaira was attacked in an undesignated locality, and indications were that it was sunk, too. Forty-six men were dead or missing from the two vessels. The two developments brought the enemy score to at least four, and probably five, ships destroyed in its recent campaign in American waters, with one other damaged. Twenty-one members of the Ciltvaira’s crew were set ashore at Charleston, S.C., by an American tanker. Nine officers and crewmen aboard a second rescue vessel, the S.S. Bury of Brazil, were enroute to port. Two men of the Ciltvaira’s crew were reported dead. All But 2 Missing. Of the roster of 46 officers and men on the City of Atlanta, only two were known to have survived the sinking. They were in a New York hospital. One was known to be dead and the 43 others were classified as missing. Today’s report of casualties raised to 75 the number of dead and missing in the week-long raids by Axis submarines off the Atlantic coast. Previously four ships had been attacked, three being sunk and one damaged with a loss of 29 dead and missing. The Navy described the City of Atlanta as a steamer 377.5 feet long and 49 feet in the beam. She was built in Chester, Pa., in 1904 and was operated by the Ocean Steamship Corporation with Savannah, Ga., as home port. The Ciltvaira was described as 3,779 ton ship owned by the Latvian Shipping company with home port at Riga, Latvia. She was built in 1905 at Sunderland, England, and was 347 feet long. The 21 members of the Ciltvaira crew who arrived at Charleston yesterday were said by the navy to have been brought in aboard the tanker S.S. Socony Vacuum, owned by the Socony Vacuum oil company of New York City. The two men who lost their lives in the torpedoing of the ship were named as Rolf Saemelin of Finland and Karl Gustafsson of Sweden, both firemen. Although the navy Department indicated there were only two survivors in the crew of 46 aboard the City of Atlanta, C.E. Seamen, Marine superintendent of the Ocean Steamship Co., of Savannah, operators of the line, said in New York three survivors were (Continued on Page Two; Col. 6) landed at Hoboken, N.J., yesterday by a rescue vessel. Cling to Wreckage. He said they were G.B. Tavelle, second officer, and R.E. Fennell, an oiler, who were injured slightly and taken to St. Mary’s hospital, Hoboken, and Earl Dowdy, able bodied seaman, who was not injured. All are from Savannah. Fennell and Dowdy were found clinging to wreckage 12 miles from where the ship was attacked. The third naval district at New York said that the City of Atlanta left New York last Saturday for Savannah and was sunk by a torpedo at 2:15am (EST) Monday in the vicinity of Wimble Shoals. The submarine, which was not sighted until after the torpedo struck, then rose to the surface and played searchlights while the crew of the ship sought to keep it afloat. A futile attempt was made to launch lifeboats, the Navy said.

"S.S. Atlanta Sent to Bottom Monday at Cape Hatteras," The Wilmington Morning Star

Just weeks after the United States entered into World War II in December of 1941, German submarines (also called U-boats for the German word unterseeboot) began to attack American merchant ships off the Atlantic Coast. So many of these attacks occurred off the North Carolina coast that the area around Cape Hatteras was called “Torpedo Junction.” 

In January of 1942, an American vessel called the City of Atlanta was destroyed by a torpedo launched by a German submarine near Cape Hatteras. This article from The Wilmington Morning Star mentions previous submarine attacks off the Atlantic coast and describes the casualties, missing persons, and survivors of the attack on the City of Atlanta.

Contributed to DigitalNC by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, State Archives of North Carolina

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Wilmington, N.C. (New Hanover County)

World War II, Part 2: North Carolina After Pearl Harbor

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Background

World War II had raged on for two years when Japanese forces unexpectedly attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. While the United States had remained a neutral force during the early years of the war, it was the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the nation, and North Carolina, into the conflict.

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States prepared itself for potential hostilities. On September 18, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Selective Training and Service Act. This law, better known as the “draft,” required American men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register for military service. Around 362,500 people from North Carolina served in the war, most of whom were drafted. 69,000 of that number were Black North Carolinians, along with 7,000 North Carolinian women. The United States also prepared for war by building and expanding military bases, particularly in North Carolina. Already-established installations like Fort Bragg experienced rapid growth in both construction and population. The expansion of sites like Fort Bragg made North Carolina the top state in training the most military personnel during World War II. 

While American soldiers trained in military bases and began to join in the fighting overseas, regular citizens had to adjust to a new life at home. War led to substantial changes in the economy and in everyday life for North Carolinians. The scarcity of certain goods, like sugar, caused the government to force citizens to ration. Factories and textile mills across North Carolina also experienced change as they shifted to producing materials for the war. Many of the workers in these factories were women, who increasingly joined the workforce to fill the positions left behind by men who were drafted or enlisted in the armed forces. Though rationing and increased production aided the war effort, the United States continued to seek out support for their military by promoting and selling war bonds to citizens. 

Four years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the war came to an end. United States forces used two atomic bombs to attack the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. Japan officially surrendered soon after, marking the end of the war on September 2, 1945. Although the conflict was over, World War II made a lasting impact on North Carolina. The primary sources in this collection demonstrate the social and economic effects of the Second World War on the state and exhibit some of the contributions that North Carolinians made to the war effort.

Discussion Questions

  1. Consider the “It’s Here – Let’s Face It” article about the United States’ entry into World War II. Why do you think the article encourages university students to focus on their education?

  2. In the award letter from Robert P. Patterson, Firestone Mills received an “excellent” rating for the war materials they produced. Why do you think these awards encouraged war factories like Firestone to increase the quality and quantity of their production?

  3. Look at the photograph of the honor roll monument and at the pages of the Alamance County Boys in Service scrapbook. Describe any reasons the creator(s) of each source may have had to create these materials. Do the two sources share any themes?

  4. North Carolina held many German prisoners of war (POWs) during World War II. In the article from The Gates County Index, a North Carolina congressman visits a prison of war camp at Ahoskie. What kind of concerns did the local people have about the German prisoners? Why did they have these concerns?

  5. World War II brought social and economic change to North Carolina, but it also caused the deaths of 7,000 North Carolina servicemembers. In what ways do you think World War II is remembered or perceived by North Carolinians today?

This primary source set was compiled by Isabella Walker.

Updated January 2025