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Beneath Aruba’s waters rest the remains of ships claimed by World War II, each with a story of its own.

Aruba had become a lifeline to the Allied war effort, with Lago, the world’s largest oil refinery, turning crude from Venezuela into the fuel that kept Allied ships at sea and aircraft in the air.

Anchored outside Seroe Colorado Harbor in San Nicolas, the 305-foot tanker SS Oranjestad was waiting for daylight to enter the harbor and unload her cargo.

When the attacks began in the early hours of February 16, 1942, a torpedo struck the nearby SS Pedernales, setting the tanker ablaze. Eight men lost their lives.

Just two minutes later, another torpedo struck SS Oranjestad, which burst into flames and within minutes became an inferno.

Within the hour, SS Oranjestad was gone. Fifteen men had lost their lives, and the tanker lay approximately 225 feet beneath the sea.

For those who never came home, Aruba’s waters became their final resting place, lasting reminders of a war that took millions of lives, tore countries apart and somehow found its way across oceans.

Recollections from that night paint a haunting picture. Thunderous explosions shattered the darkness. Burning tankers cast an eerie red glow across the night sky. The community alarm pierced the night as tracer fire streaked over rooftops and shells struck a family’s home. A torpedo that had missed its target was found washed up on

Eagle Beach the following day, claiming four more lives when a military team attempted to dismantle it.

That night, Aruba found itself in a war that had, until then, seemed oceans away.

With daybreak came the first sense of what the night had taken. Forty-seven men had lost their lives. For many, the sea had become their final resting place.

The attacks disrupted the lifeline, but they did not break it. Aruba continued helping sustain the Allied fight against Nazi Germany.

SS Oranjestad remained 225 feet beneath the sea for 67 years, until part of her returned to the surface.