Town commemorates 100th anniversary of German attack

ORLEANS, Mass. (AP) — A Cape Cod town is celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the only enemy attack on American soil during World War I.

A German U-156 submarine shelled a tugboat near Orleans, Massachusetts on July 21, 1918 at around 10:30 a.m., the first attack on the U.S. in 100 years.

A commemoration is taking place Saturday at 5 p.m. on Nauset Beach to mark the anniversary.

It remains a mystery why an advanced submarine would attack a target that had no real value. One theory is that the sub had hoped to cut the underwater communications cable that ran from Orleans to France. The U-boat sent hits to the Perth Amboy tug boat and its four barges, injuring a member of the crew, and left an hour later.