By David A. Marlin

It was July 25, 1956, shortly before midnight, when two ocean liners collided in heavy fog 45 miles south of Nantucket Island. The Andrea Doria, the pride of the Italian fleet bound for New York, had been rammed amidships by the bow of the Swedish liner Stockholm. My recollections of the Andrea Doria sinking are firsthand; I was one of a group of news photographers who covered the story.

It was 2:30 a.m. when the ringing bedside phone woke me up. My editor spoke quickly:

"There's been an accident at sea off Nantucket — two ships collided. One of them is the Andrea Doria, a big ocean liner. Passengers are being taken off. United Press and The Globe are sharing a chartered plane leaving Logan Airport to fly to Nantucket. I want you on the charter."

Read more

Source: http://www.heraldtribune.com/