Ceremony honours US soldiers who died off Scottish coast

LONDON – Relatives of U.S. soldiers who died in two sea disasters off the coast of Scotland during World War I have travelled to the island of Islay for a service honouring those who were lost and the local people who rescued the survivors.

The ceremony commemorates the sinking of two troop carriers, the SS Tuscania in February 1918 and the HMS Otranto eight months later. Some 700 U.S. servicemen and British crew members lost their lives.

The Tuscania was on its way from New Jersey to Liverpool when it was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank between Islay and Northern Ireland. HMS Otranto sank after a collision with another ship.

Residents of the islands of Islay and Jura rescued the survivors and buried many of the dead.