On August 6, 1918, exactly 16 months after the U.S. entry into World War I, while patrolling off the coast of North Carolina, the LV-71 came across the sinking cargo ship SS Merak. It had been sailing from New York to the West Indies when it was spotted by the German submarine U-140 which fired a torpedo at it. The torpedo's wake was spotted and the Merak took evasive action and avoided it but ran aground. The submarine then surfaced to finish it off with its deck gun.
The ship started sinking, but the crew escaped.
The LV-71 arrived on the scene and Master Walter Barnett sent out warning to other ships in the area. The U-140 intercepted the message and returned to the scene and sank the LV-71 with its deck gun. residents in Hatteras, N.C., reported hearing the gunfire.
The wreck is 12 miles off the coast and is the only U.S. lightship ever sunk by enemy action.
We'll leave the Light On. --Cooter
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