Sunday marks the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the passenger ship Andrea Doria in the Atlantic Ocean. Six of the people who died were heading to South Bend.
Maria Sergio and four of her children had left their home in southern Italy to join her husband, Ross, and older son, who’d already moved.
They never made it. Their cabin took a direct hit, when the Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm, south of Nantucket, on the night of July 25, 1956.
Ross had been saving money to bring the rest of the family over, according to Maria’s great-nephew, Joe Sergio. "It was just going to be such a celebration," Joe says. "They finally get reunited after a couple of years and bringing the family and children to Ross, and instead, that catastrophe happened and so they never were."
Joe’s grandparents, Paul and Margaret Sergio, were also on the ship, but survived. They’d previously moved from Italy to South Bend and were returning with Maria and her children.
Joe says his grandparents didn’t talk about the incident with him so most of the stories he’s heard were passed down from his father. “They said that the hallways were filled with dense smoke, and water was flooding in, and it went up to their knees, and there was oil in the water. Eventually, they saw blood in the water,” Joe says.
Paul and Margaret were separated as they left the ship in lifeboats. “My grandmother was forcefully taken off the boat because she wouldn’t leave without the rest of the family, and they ended up getting reunited on the deck of the Île de France,” Joe explains.
It wasn’t until after they arrived in New York that they learned definitively that Maria and her children didn’t survive.
Joe says, before the crash, the children had asked to spend the night in his grandparents’ cabin, but Paul refused. "He wanted them to get a good night’s sleep, and so, he lived with that decision to have them go to their own cabin," Joe says. "And they ended up being in the direct line and got hit."
Also among those killed was South Bend resident Josephine Ferraro, who was on her way back from a visit to Italy. The Andrea Doria sank the morning after the collision, but not before more than 1,600 people were rescued.
“We’ve always looked at it as such a tragedy because we had family members that died, and yet, only 46 out of about 1,600 passengers [and crew members] died that night, and it’s considered one of the greatest maritime rescues in history,” Joe notes.
Some of the remaining survivors and their families have gathered in Boston to mark the 70th anniversary. Joe Sergio attended with his son and granddaughter.
“It’s been good and encouraging to hear all the wonderful stories of people that were able to survive and live to tell about it and how it changed their lives,” Sergio says.
How, seventy years later, the incident has been a big part of his family’s history for generations. He says it’s helped him appreciate the difficulties faced by immigrants like his grandparents.
"It was quite a challenge," Sergio adds. "They were heroic, in my opinion, that they could sell everything and pack up and come here, looking for a better life for their family, for future generations."
He says it continues to shape his family’s values, showing them the importance of giving back to others. “There’s no place in the world like America, and even with its problems, it’s such a great country, and it’s provided so well for us," Sergio says. "I just point to – people in our family gave their lives trying to get here and that we are fortunate that we are able to benefit from that."
