the chances of a tugboat finding Borie were slim. The nearest port, Horta, was about 690 miles away; Iceland, Ireland and Newfoundland were all about 900 miles away, and the task group was at the approximate center of five reported U-boat wolfpacks. By now there were waves. As nightfall approached at 1630, Hutchins reluctantly ordered his exhausted crew to abandon ship. The Card task force had taken a substantial risk by leaving the escort carrier unprotected in sub-infested waters. Card was 10 miles away, but and were close by as the crew abandoned Borie; on orders from the Task Group commander, the ship was not scuttled at that time. Despite the sporadic machine gun and small arms fire from U-405, none of Bories crewmen had been killed during the engagement, although several were wounded. But due to water, 20-foot waves, high winds and severe exhaustion, three officers and 24 enlisted men were lost during the rescue operation. Hutchins reported, "Many of the lost were just unable to get over the side" of the two rescuing destroyers. Still, the ship remained afloat through the night; Goff and Barry attempted to sink the wreck at first light, but torpedoes went astray in the heavy seas. One 4-inch shell from Barry struck the bridge and started a small fire, but she still refused to sink. The coup de grace was delivered on the morning of 2 November by a bomb dropped by a TBF Avenger from VC-9 on Card. Borie finally sank at 0955 on 2 November. The survivors were transferred to the more spacious accommodations of Card for the journey home. Awards Borie received three battle stars for her World War II service as well as the Presidential Unit Citation for her actions in the Card group. For the final battle, Borie crewmembers were awarded three Navy Cross medals, two Silver Star medals and one Legion of Merit medal. References Bibliography External links USS Borie website at Destroyer History Foundation U-405 at U-boat.net USS Borie at U-boat.net USS Borie at Navsource Naval History Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1919 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Maritime incidents in November 1943 Ships sunk in collisions