Sayville and The Great War

This year marks Sayville’s 250th anniversary and the community held a daylong celebration October 1 at The Common Ground. To commemorate this historic occasion Sayville Patch is running a series of stories that look back on the history of the hamlet.

Veteran’s Day was originally known as Armistice Day, the day that commemorated the end of what was called “The Great War.”  Known today as World War I, few know the role Sayville played in the events that transpired in the years 1914-1918.

Sayville’s part in WWI began before the U.S. even entered into the war with the famous Telefunken incident in 1915.  A German-owned radio tower in Sayville transmitted secret messages to its sister station in Germany. The wireless station also played a role in the sinking of the British liner Lusitania in 1915, which claimed 120 American lives. With the U.S. entry into the war, the facility was occupied by U.S. Marines until the end of the conflict. 

Once the U.S. entered the war in early 1917, the greatest threat to the U.S. was the dreaded German U-Boat. With thousands of miles of coastline to protect, the U.S. Navy created several small bases along the coast and manned them with ships commanded by local residents. The Sayville Naval Base became one of those stations. 

Owned and operated by the U.S. Navy, the ships served under naval command and were manned by men from Sayville. Their job was two-fold.  First, they were to patrol and report any U-boat sightings. Second, they were to police the shoreline and prevent any re-supply of German U-Boats and stop them from landing any spies on the shore. 

The most famous incident took place on July 19, 1918. There were several reports of a huge explosion off the coast of Point O’ Woods on Fire Island. Boats from the Sayville squadron were dispatched to investigate. When they arrived, they found that the USS San Diego, a heavy cruiser, had been attacked and sunk by a German U-Boat.  Miraculously, only six men were killed. The rest of the crew either made it to shore in the life boats or were rescued by the Navy men from Sayville. 

Men from Sayville also served in the skies above France and on the Western Front. Sayville resident Langdon Post wrote home to his parents regularly, telling of artillery barrages, poison gas attacks and hand to hand combat in the trenches at the front. His brother, serving in the U.S. Navy, witnessed the surrender of the German fleet of Scapa Flow.

Unfortunately, some of the boys from Sayville did not return home.  Five men from Sayville would lose their lives during the war. Irving Smith was one of those men who did not make it home. He died just nine days before the armistice that ended combat. In his memory, his brothers built a memorial to him and to the other men who died in the “war to end all wars.” That memorial sits in Sparrow Park today.  

As the years have passed, more Sayville names have been added, commemorating those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.   

David Moglia is a Sayville resident is a very keen interest in local history. He can be reached via e-mail at dlmoglia@gmail.com.