Plot

A WWII transport ship equipped with non-functioning lifeboats and inadequate lifebelts was sunk by one of the first radio-guided missiles ever used in war. 1,015 U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack that remains the greatest loss of life at sea in the history of any U.S. war. Uncovered classified documents reveal that neglect and oversight contributed to the large number of casualties. The government deflected responsibility by declaring the disaster classified indefinitely while ordering all survivors to remain silent. The casualty families were stonewalled and most of them went to their own graves never knowing what happened; their boys just never came home.

The HMT Rohna left North Africa on November 25, 1943 with 1,981 American soldiers on board. The Rohna was part of a 24-ship convoy heading to the China-Burma-India Theater to support the Allied war efforts against Japan. The ships were venturing down Suicide Alley, a dangerous stretch of the Mediterranean Sea known for German attacks.

The following day, 21 German bombers carrying one of Hitler's secret weapons attacked the convoy in two separate waves without any successful hits. As the allied troops within the convoy let out a sigh of relief, one last bomber plane returned and launched the last radio-guided missile of the attack straight into the side of the Rohna. The attack killed 1,015 US soldiers. It's estimated that 300 men were killed on impact, and most of the remaining soldiers died either trying to get off the sinking ship or in the water waiting to be rescued. It was the greatest loss of troops at sea due to enemy action in the history of US war.

Unbeknownst to the troops who were jam-packed into the overcrowded ship, everything was stacked against them; including the rusty non-functioning lifeboats. The M1926 lifebelts distributed to the soldiers as they boarded the ship were designed for amphibious assaults, not for naval ships. The lack of training on how to use the lifebelt contributed to additional deaths of soldiers.

The Rohna attack was historic in many ways. Besides being the largest loss of troops at sea by enemy action in US history, it was one of the first radio-guided missiles ever used against the US. The War Department swiftly classified the attack, ordering all of the 966 survivors not to talk or write home about it under a threat of court-martial. By the time the war was over, most of the survivors went home with their painful story buried deep inside as they tried to forget their secret tale of that fateful night.

The War Department classified the Rohna attack indefinitely keeping the story out of WWII history books. It was virtually never mentioned for 50 years. The families of those who were killed in the Rohna attack were never told what happened to their loved ones. There were no War Department phone calls, letters, or visits made, providing information that would bring closure to the families. Most of the bodies of the soldiers were never recovered, and in most cases, there were no funeral services or burials for the forgotten soldiers. Six months after the attack, the Gold Star families back home finally received one short paragraph confirming the death of their sons and husbands in a telegram that also stated that there was no information available. That was it; the boys just never came home.