EAGLE, JAMES

James Eagle

Navy

Coram

William P. Eagle and James Eagle were sons of William G. and Christina J. Eagle who moved from Canada to the United States in 1917 or 1918 and settled on a small farm in Coram several hundred feet south of Middle Country Road on a private drive which later became Homestead Drive.

James D. Eagle was born July 18, 1919 in Lindenhurst, Long Island. On October 21, 1940 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After six weeks at Newport, RI, he was sent to the state of Washington and assigned to the battleship, USS Tennessee. The Tennessee sailed to Hawaii and was at Pearl Harbor when attacked by the Japanese Air Force on Dec. 7, 1941. The Admiral in charge had been on the Tennessee but switched to the West Virginia and the two battleships switched positions. The Tennessee was hit by a couple of bombs but not severely damaged. The West Virginia was next to them and was sunk. The Arizona which was behind them was hit and blown up. The Tennessee headed back to Washington and was in the Puget Sound Navy Yard from December 29, 1941 to February 25,1942 for repairs, and was back again in Puget Sound on August 27, 1942 for modernization. On Oct. 4, 1942, Jim returned home from his ship in Seattle, Wash. on a 12 day furlough. He had become a First Class Petty Officer and turned down a promotion to Chief Petty Officer so he could go to school in Washington, DC. On Mar. 3, 1945 E/M 1/C James Eagle, U.S.N. and Virginia Goldstein were married in Middle Island. After being discharged he returned to Coram where he was employed by a construction company. Mr. Eagle was also a member of the Coram Fire Department for over 50 years.