Mary Duggan’s uncle Michael Cullen, 17, was one of the youngest to die on the Leukos The family of a young Irish seaman killed when his trawler was sunk by a German U-boat in 1940 say they hope the discovery of the wreckage will finally allow them to give him a Christian burial. Mary Duggan’s uncle, Michael Cullen was one of a crew of 11 who died when the Leukos, an unarmed neutral Irish vessel, was attacked without warning by submarine U-38. The wreckage was found in the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles (48km) off the coast of County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Ms Duggan said they always knew Michael, who was 17, had been “lost at sea” but never that he had been a victim of Nazi Germany. For her, it was “very sad” that Michael’s body had never been recovered after 85 years and may be lying at the bottom of the ocean. Liam Duggan Michael Cullen’s sisters, Winnie Sheehy (left) and Dora Dobbyns (right) joined President of Ireland Patrick Hillery in 1990 for the unveiling of a monument to commemorate Irish seafarers killed during World War Two She said she was amazed the wreckage had now been found. “Foremost in my mind is just, maybe, getting the remains of my uncle,” Ms Duggan said. “My [late] father, my [late] grandparents would, I’m sure, be delighted to know that a shipwreck has been found and maybe there’s a possibility of having a burial for Michael. “It might be just something I could do for my dad; he was his brother.” Why did the U-boat attack the Leukos? The Leukos had been fishing alongside five British trawlers off Tory Island on 9 March 1940 when the submarine surfaced and opened fire with its deck gun. As a neutral country, all Irish ships, including the Leukos, were unarmed and clearly marked. It has never been proven why U-38 fired at the unarmed neutral Irish trawler, and left five British vessels untouched.
via bbc: ‘Wreckage could allow me to bury uncle killed by Hitler’s navy’ 14 hours ago