Enemy in the Harbor
Story Summary
12-year-old Andre DeForge suspects the authorities are hiding the truth after his father’s merchant ship sinks in 1942 off the East Coast. As ships keep going down and a periscope appears in their Portland, Maine harbor, Andre and his friend discover the unfriendly new neighbor is flashing Morse code messages. Certain that the man is a Nazi sympathizer connected to the marine disasters and determined to blow up the nearly finished Liberty ship, Andre risks everything to get the proof he needs. Then Andre uncovers a government secret and must decide what true patriotism means.
Historical Background
In 1942, the United States was reeling from the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. The government declared war on Japan and sent sailors and ships to the Pacific Ocean to defend the country. The United States had been reluctant to join the war against Hitler in Europe. When Hitler declared war on the U.S. only a few days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the government had no choice. Our country would have to fight in two regions.
But we were not prepared, and the Germans knew it. From their U-boats, they began sinking merchant marine ships off the East Coast. In January 1942, German U-boats torpedoed 35 ships and killed over 1,000 men. Germany was intent on making sure we couldn’t supply England and our allies with oil and other materials to help them fight the war.
To prevent citizens from panicking, and to ensure that they continued to support the war, U.S. Navy officials worked with the media to keep the number of torpedoed merchants ships secret.
By the end of April 1942, the U.S. Navy had a strategy in place and more resources, especially escort ships, to fight the U-boats. Their actions ultimately helped the U.S. win the war but it came too late to save the 5,000 people who perished in U-boat attacks that spring.
Newton Felton is a fictional character, as is Andre DeForge, but the story told through these characters is an important one. It is interesting to imagine that more than one person may have tried to expose the truth of what was happening during this dangerous time in our history and to think about the role of the media when a nation is in a crisis.