Like the 20th Century two world wars, the US will be late for WW3 and it'll take a much bigger act than sabotaging one German ship. But if history plays out like it usually does (which it is) it's coming.
On which side would the US join the fight? Its movement towards Russia and away from NATO is accelerating dramatically, and it’s not clear where the trend will stop. Culturally, the US is increasingly at odds with scolds of liberal Europe and in tune with domineering Muscovite Russia.
If the US sided with Russia against Europe a big chunk of the US population would oppose that. (But even staying neutral and not supporting a NATO nation should one be attacked by Russia would be a bad outcome.)
This present timeline was predicted back in 2011. European politicians have been cutting their defense spending for some time and their military capabilities have been deteriorating.