THE TIMING couldn't be worse, but time is running out for the United States to make amends to members of the Merchant Marine who served in combat zones during World War II. As The Pilot's Bill Bartel recently reported, a renewed effort is under way on Capitol Hill to further compensate merchant mariners who transported troops, tanks, fuel and supplies to every theater of the war.
The Coast Guard announces the availability of Policy Letter 11-15, which describes steps the Coast Guard is taking to implement a statutory change in mariner credentialing requirements. This policy letter details how the Coast Guard is relaxing its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enforcement posture for mariners who serve on board vessels that are not required to have a vessel security plan. It also describes policy changes to allow these mariners to acquire and renew a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) without holding a valid TWIC.
Supporters of World War II-era merchant mariners who braved enemy fire to deliver troops and supplies to battlegrounds are launching a campaign this summer in the hopes of persuading Congress to compensate them for veterans benefits they were denied more than 60 years ago. But they acknowledge that fight is much more difficult because their numbers are dwindling, and Congress has many new members who are unfamiliar with their quest.
When Fred Lewis and other merchant mariners came home from World War II, they knew some people didn't consider them veterans. Some still don't. Lewis joined the all-volunteer Merchant Marine in 1944 - at age 17 - and spent five years helping deliver supplies to troops around the world. During the war, he and fellow seamen endured terrible casualties while fighting back against kamikaze pilots, submarines and other attacks.
CASTINE, Maine -- Like so many veterans of World War II, James Wood and Lawrence Bartlett speak with pride as they recall their contributions to the American war effort nearly 70 years ago. Yet for decades, their own government did not recognize them and hundreds of thousands of other merchant mariners as veterans. Even today, few people hear about the merchant mariners who risked their lives -- and sometimes sacrificed them -- aboard the cargo ships that kept the Allied military forces supplied with ammunition, war materials, food and fresh troops.
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