Some would say that the USS Panay was the first US ship lost in WWII.
Tom Clancy used the name “USS Reuben James” in his book “Red Storm Rising”...
The Sinking Of The Reuben James
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie
Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James
Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free
But tonight she’s in her grave at the bottom of the sea.
Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names,
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
What were their names, tell me, what were their names?
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
Well, a hundred men went down in that dark watery grave
When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved.
‘Twas the last day of October we saved the forty-four
From the cold ocean waters and the cold icy shore.
It was there in the dark of that uncertain night
That we watched for the U-boats and waited for a fight.
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion roared
And they laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor.
Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright
In the farms and in the cities they’re telling of the fight.
And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main
And remember the name of that good Reuben James.
Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June, 1941. Woody Guthrie was very motivated to help the Soviet Union by convincing the US to join the war. Before this, the Communists worked to keep American out of the war.
Admiral Doenitz’ U-Boats nearly accomplished what Herman Goering’s Luftwaffe did not: bring England to her knees.
As I recollect, the battleship USS Texas also participated in the so-called “neutrality patrol”.