|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
One Reporter's Opinion: The Mighty Merchant Marines George Putnam It is this reporter's opinion that our nation is long overdue in extending honors and deep-felt gratitude to the so-called "unknown federal service" – the proud men and women who serve in the United States Merchant Marine.
Recently, to his credit, President Bush delivered the keynote address at the U.S. Merchant Marine exercises in which 202 members of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduated. It is to be noted that President Bush is the first sitting U.S. president ever to visit the academy's campus, located in Kings Point, Long Island, New York.
Perhaps one reason the Merchant Marines have received so little publicity is their motto: "Acta, non verba" – "Act, don't talk."
All told, more than 20,000 academy graduates have served the maritime industry and the armed forces at sea and ashore. In peacetime as in war, it is the Merchant Marines who keep us afloat. Story Continues Below
It is to be noted that the Merchant Marine Academy is the first federal service to enroll women students – two years ahead of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard. Twenty-eight women are part of this year's class, bringing the total number of academy female graduates to 552.
The academy, operated by the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943, and its college-level four-year program is fully accredited.
Despite the fact that our U.S. Merchant Marines are subject to the military code of conduct and could be court-martialed, and despite the fact that 7,000 gallant mariners were killed at sea on more than 800 American ships that were sunk, the merchant seamen of World War II got a raw deal when peace returned.
For 43 years, our government denied surviving heroes benefits, ranging from housing to health care to education under the G.I. Bill. Congress awarded them veteran status only in 1988 – too late for the 125,000 mariners who had already passed away (roughly half of those who had served).
It was General Dwight D. Eisenhower who said, "When final victory is ours, there is no organization to share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marines."
Our Merchant Marines have a proud and bloodied history. By the end of World War II, the Merchant Marine Academy had graduated 6,634 officers, many of whom never made it home. The academy accelerated graduating classes during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
During the Persian Gulf War and prior to the conflict, academy graduates and midshipmen played key roles in a massive sealift of military supplies to the war zone. They also participated in the sealift to Somalia. More recently, they were vital in the transportation of supplies to the Iraq war and have served supporting naval roles in ports in Iraq and Kuwait. These brave young men and women risk their lives on a day-to-day basis aboard ships loaded with high-test fuel and munitions on which our fighting troops depend.
As one young Merchant Marine in World War II put it, "We never know where our next mission will take us, nor do we know the cargo or destination. We know the risk is great, but supplies have got to reach our comrades and we're the ones to do the job." This young officer was Lee Conlon, who interrupted his schooling at Notre Dame and later Ohio State University. He was later employed as a Dayton, Ohio, executive. Lee told this reporter that by war's end, he made 18 trips on the "Murmansk Run," in addition to North Africa, Italy, and the Mediterranean areas. "Several times," as he put it, "our bottoms were shot out from under us, but we Merchant Marines completed our mission."
First Mate Lee Conlon paid tribute to "the splendid naval protection given unarmed merchant ships to get the needed supplies to our boys and girls over there." Lee, now deceased, was the proud father of our own Sallilee Conlon of our reporting staff (and, incidentally, the last Life Magazine cover girl – May 18, 1953. [http://www.life.com/Life/covers/1953/cv051853.html]
As I read the letters written home by First Mate Conlon to his daughter, I could only conclude that it is amazing how, under constant enemy bombardment, any of these brave young men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine survived. No longer will they be considered to be the "unknown federal service" ... they have earned their place in history.
So, when the next Memorial Day parade goes passing by, among the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, save a place for the mighty U.S. Merchant Marine!
Related Link:
http://www.usmm.org
Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Page 
Forward Page 
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2008 NewsMax.Com |