WWII Merchant Marines May Gain Veteran Status

[SSGMike.Ivy]

Merchant Marines who served in WWII were not given veterans status until 1988, causing many of them to missed out on earlier veterans benefits. A bill before Congress would give the remaining World War II mariners, or their surviving spouses, $1,000 a month for the rest of their lives. More than half of the U.S. representatives have signed on to the bill (H.B. 23).

An estimated 10,000 World War II mariners are alive today.

[Story]

[sarcasm] Yeah, great - why not just wait until they're all dead. [/sarcasm]

For those that don't know it, the Merchant Marine had a higher casualty rate than the USMC.
http://www.usmm.org/casualty.html

[plant-pilot]

I don't know about the US Merchant Marine, but the thing that really amazed me when I heard it about the British Merchant Navy, was that if the ship they were on sank for any reason, including enemy action, their pay stopped until they were back in a port and could sign onto another ship. Ship gone meant that their contract had ended and until they had signed on to another ship they weren't employed.

Now I find that truly amazing.

[von Poop]

Originally Posted by plant-pilot

I don't know about the US Merchant Marine, but the thing that really amazed me when I heard it about the British Merchant Navy, was that if the ship they were on sank for any reason, including enemy action, their pay stopped until they were back in a port and could sign onto another ship. Ship gone meant that their contract had ended and until they had signed on to another ship they weren't employed.

Now I find that truly amazing.

Amazing indeed.
That always struck me as one of the blackest little facts about WW2.
My dad had a brief Convoy obsession and he used to bring this up at the slightest opportunity to provoke general disbelief.

[Za Rodinu]

Never late to honour the heroes! They put life and limb under fire and had scant opportunity to fire back.

Plant-Pilot, what you tell that is disgusting, inhuman!

[von Poop]

And many deserving men have only just been allowed their Governments own Arctic Convoy Medal, the Russian Government decorated them while their own prevaricated.... for sixty years

[Gnomey]

Good, for what they did they definitely deserve it.

[Story]

http://www.americanlegacycorps.com/site/americanlegacycorps/section.php?id=9124

Merchant Mariners Bill H.R. 23, benefit value $500 Million, Co-Sponsored In Congress


American Legacy Corps sponsors Eddie Albert and Ian T. Allison, Co-Chairman of the United States Merchant Mariners Just Compensation Committee thank Congressman Bob Filner for sponsoring H.R. 23.

To view status on H.R. 23 before congress click on the following link and type in HR23 in the bill number field. http://thomas.loc.gov/

Congressman Bob Filner introduced Bill H.R. 3729, (now HR23 in 2005) to Speaker of the House and members of the House of Representatives during the first session of the 108th Congress on January 27, 2004, the date of Mr Allisons 84th Birthday.

January 27, 2004, 108th Congress, first session, quote by Congressman Bob Filner: 'Mr Speaker, I rise today to ask Congress to correct an injustice inflicted upon a group of World War II veterans, the World War II United States Merchant Mariners.'

H.R. 23, a Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II has a benefit value of $500 Million over 10 years!

The combined efforts of Ian T. Allison of the San Francisco North Bay Merchant Mariners association and Co-Chairman of the Just Compensation Committee with Henry Van Gemert, along with all the Merchant Marine chapters has allowed us to put a bill before Congress that represents efforts to help over 10,000 Merchant Marine veterans and surviving spouses for the rest of their lives .

Congressman Filner, District 51, Chula Vista CA (San Diego) introduced on January 27, 2004 before the Speaker of the House of Representatives bill H.R. 23 which proposes a monthly benefit of $1,000 a month for the World War Two Merchant Mariners or the surviving spouse.

Merchant Mariners in WW II suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the branches of the services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Over 800 ships where sunk between 1941 and 1944 alone, resulting in a casualty rate close to 20% of the Merchant Marine forces.

Unfortunately, this groups of brave men were denied their rights under the GI Bill of Rights which Congress enacted in 1945. All those who served in the Army, Navy Marine Corps, Air Force of Coast Guard were recipients of benefits under the GI Bill. The Untied States Merchant Marine was not included.

Congressman Bob Filner introduced Bill H.R. 23 to Speaker of the House and members of the House of Representatives during the first session of the 108th Congress on January 27, 2004, the date of Mr Allisons 84th Birthday.

The following is a transcript of the speech.

Mr Speaker, I rise today to ask Congress to correct an injustice inflicted upon a group of World War II veterans, the World War II United States Merchant Mariners.

Merchant Mariners in WW II suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the branches of the services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Enemy forces sank over 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.

Unfortuneately, this groups of brave men were denied their rights under the GI Bill of Rights which Congress enacted in 1945. All those who served in the Army, Navy Marine Corps, Air Force of Coast Guard were recipients of benefits under the GI Bill. The Untied States Merchant Marine was not included.

Mr. Speaker, the Merchant Marine became the forgotten service. For four decades, no effort was made to recognize the contribution made by this branch of the Armed Forces. The fact that merchant seamen had borne arms during wartime in the defense of thier country did not seem to matter.

No legislation to benefit merchant seamen was passed by Congress until 1988 when the Seamens Acts of 1988 finally granted them the status of veteran and a 'watered down' GI Bill of Rights. Some portions of the GI Bill have never been made available to veterans of the Merchant Marine.

While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, I propose a bill that will acknoweledge the service of the veterans of the Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and years of lost benefits.

My bill, H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2005 would pay each eligible veteran a monthly benefit of $1,000. That payment would also go to their surviving spouse.

The average age of Merchant Marine veterans is now 81. Many have outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI bill would be of comfort and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the Merchant Marine.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Ian Allison, Merchant Marine combat veteran, Co-Chairman of the Just Compensation Committee, for bringing to me the plight of the Merchant Mariners. To recognize Mr. Allison, his Co-Chairman, Henry Van Gemert, and the thousands of veterans of the United States Merchant Marine, I introduce the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004, today, January 27, 2004, the date of Mr. Allison's 84th birthday.

I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this legislation. We can never make up for the years lost, but we can fix the injustice by passing H. R. 23 as quickly as possible.

The Honorable Bob Filner

[Story]

As a young man, my father served on Liberty ships.

He had some jacked up stories - starting with how ships in the front of the convoy were sunk in the North Atlantic and the guys on bridge watch would see passing lifeboats full of classmates. However, no one was allowed to stop for them and they wouldn't last out the day in those freezing waters.

For those of you unfamiliar with the U-boat offensive off America's East coast in 1942, check out
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/044...lance&n=283155

[plant-pilot]

Originally Posted by Za Rodinu

Never late to honour the heroes! They put life and limb under fire and had scant opportunity to fire back.

Plant-Pilot, what you tell that is disgusting, inhuman!

Za Rodinu, don't shoot the messenger! I was only saying what happened, I didn't implement the rules, I wasn't around at the time.