Not directly a war casualty, but indirectly the City of Athens was a war casualty. She was sailing off Cape Romaine, Delaware with most of the ship blacked out due to U-boat activity. She was sailing through a dense fog when at about 1 a.m. on May 1, 1918 she was rammed by the French cruiser LaGloria. There was no doubt the ship was about to sink and all those on board who had been sleeping just minutes before now were in a fight for their lives.

The 3,648 ton ship sank less than twenty minutes after being struck taking 66 passengers and crew with her, including a number of French sailors and several young men who had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps who were on their way to Port Royal, South Carolina for training. Some of the sixty-eight survivors made statements to the press claiming that the lifesaving equipment was less than satisfactory and at least one lifeboat had overturned while being lowered due to one of the lines breaking. Many though had praise for the wireless operator, F. J. Doherty, who reportedly remained at his post sending distress signals until the ship slipped beneath the waves.

Several boats and rafts did get away and a number of other survivors clung to wreckage and were picked up by crewmen of the LaGloria. Only six of the French sailors survived, all were quartered in the forward part of the ship at the point of impact, those who survived the collision had probably been awake and in another part of the ship, the rest were trapped with no hope of escape and perished.