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[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 88 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1125-E1126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

     IN TRIBUTE TO THE U.S. MERCHANT MARINE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

                                 ______

                         HON. NORMAN Y. MINETA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 24, 1995
  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, today, we observe National Maritime Day to 
pay honor and tribute to those who served our country in the merchant 
marine during the Second World War.
  We have observed this day since 1945, when President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt, by proclamation, designated this day. For our observance 
this year, the 50th since the end of the war, the Administrator of the 
Maritime Administration, Vice Adm. Albert J. Herberger, has written a 
moving tribute to the merchant mariners who gave of themselves a half-
century ago. It is my pleasure to share this tribute with my 
colleagues:
            The Merchant Marine During World     War II    

             By Maritime Administrator Albert J. Herberger)

       Fifty years ago, America celebrated National Maritime Day 
     in inland cities such as Kansas City, Akron and Salt Lake 
     City, as well as in the Nation's Capitol and many port 
     cities.
       Governors of West Virginia, Nebraska, New Mexico and 
     Indiana joined their coastal colleagues in issuing 
     proclamations or statements honoring those who built and 
     sailed the merchant ships so vital to the war effort.
       The President, too, asked the people of the United States 
     to observe May 22, 1945 as National Maritime Day. It was the 
     last proclamation issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
       In his Maritime Day proclamation, President Roosevelt 
     saluted the ``. . . many thousands of patriotic men and women 
     [who] are toiling through the long hours of the day and night 
     in the construction of the great fleets of vessels that carry 
     the goods of victory to the distant battlefronts of the 
     United Nations . . .
       ``Our ships, sailing every ocean, have been manned by 
     courageous officers and seamen all of whom have left the 
     security of their firesides and many of whom have given their 
     lives for the land of their allegiance. . . .''
       Many civilian American seafarers made the ultimate 
     sacrifice; more than 6,000 were killed, and 733 American 
     cargo ships were lost to enemy action.
       Thousands were injured during attacks. Many were forced to 
     wait aboard lifeboats and rafts, hoping for rescue after 
     their vessels were lost.
       The story of Capt. James F. Harrell, master of the SS GULF 
     STATES, was told in this contemporary account:
       ``Proceeding in convoy through an area of enemy submarine 
     activity, he sighted, at a great distance, two drifting 
     lifeboats heavily loaded with survivors apparently too 
     exhausted to signal. Though fully aware of the danger to his 
     own ship, he obtained permission from the Commodore to leave 
     the protection of the convoy and succeeded in taking aboard 
     106 survivors of a torpedoed Dutch ship in a rescue operation 
     which required three hours to effect.
       ``On a subsequent voyage, his ship, carrying 78,000 barrels 
     of crude oil, was hit by two torpedoes. Fire immediately 
     enveloped the entire after part of the ship trapping all but 
     the Master and eleven of his crew.
       ``Captain Harrell directed the launching of the one 
     remaining life raft, ordered the men with him over the side, 
     and chose to give his life in a heroic attempt to rescue the 
     trapped men.''
       Capt. Harrell was one of nine officers and seamen of the 
     nation's wartime merchant fleet who were awarded the merchant 
     marine distinguished Service Medal during May 1945. His was 
     presented posthumously to his wife, Alice Harrell, of Port 
     Arthur, Texas.
       Another recipient was Paul Irwin Valentine, of Tiffin, 
     Ohio. He served as second cook and baker aboard the SS DANIEL 
     HUGER. Following is his story, as recounted in 1945:
       ``His ship was subjected to a two-hour high level bombing 
     attack by seventeen enemy planes. As a result of a near miss, 
     bomb fragments pierced the hull and the cargo of high octane 
     gasoline exploded.
       ``Despite heroic efforts to combat the flames two to three 
     hundred feet high, the fire was soon out of control and the 
     ship was abandoned.
       ``Upon arrival of the shore fire brigade it was decided to 
     try to save the ship with foamite. It was necessary to have a 
     few men return to the ship, enter the adjacent hold, and play 
     a hose on the heated bulkhead to prevent the raging fire from 
     spreading.
       ``Second Cook and Baker Valentine was one of four who 
     volunteered to risk his life in an attempt to save part of 
     the cargo, which was so necessary to the continuance of war 
     operations. That the fire was eventually brought under 
     control and most of the cargo saved, was due in no small 
     measure to his outstanding bravery.''
       As the citation issued to him 50 years ago said, ``His 
     willingness to risk his life to save his ship, and his heroic 
     conduct during the fire are in keeping with the finest 
     traditions of the sea.''
       These are just two examples of the heroism of America's 
     civilian seafarers. From the beginning of the war to May 31, 
     1945, awards to merchant mariners included 113 Distinguished 
     Service Medals, 11 Meritorious Service Medals, 3,893 
     Mariner's Medals, 32 congratulatory letters, 192,282 Merchant 
     Marine emblems, 84,697 combat bars, 5,957 defense bars and 
     363,292 was zone bars for service in the Atlantic, Pacific, 
     or Mediterranean-Middle East war zone bars.
       Merchant mariners came from all parts of the country to 
     serve the nation. Those receiving awards in May 1945 
     represented the states of Alabama, California, Colorado, 
     Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, 
     Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
     Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 
     New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
     Island, South Carolina, [[Page E1126]] Texas, Virginia and 
     Washington, as well as the District of Columbia and the then-
     territory of Hawaii.
       As has been the case in recent years, virtually all 1995 
     National Maritime Day observances will be in port cities. In 
     Washington, D.C., we will remember the war time service of 
     our merchant mariners at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.
       No doubt we will recall the Maritime Day tributes received 
     a half century ago from the leaders of America's armed 
     forces.
       For example, Lieutenant General Alexander A. Vandegrift, 
     United States Marine Corps Commandant, pointed out how the 
     Marine Crops had been aided by the merchant marine:
       ``The men and ships of the Merchant Marine have 
     participated in every landing operation by the United States 
     Marine Corps from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima--and we know they 
     will be at hand with supplies and equipment when American 
     amphibious forces hit the beaches of Japan itself. On 
     Maritime Day we of the Marine Corps salute the men of the 
     merchant fleet.''
       The devotion to duty by the men at sea was praised by the 
     Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower:
       ``The officers and men of the Merchant Marine, by their 
     devotion to duty in the face of enemy action, as well as 
     natural dangers of the sea, have brought us the tools to 
     finish the job. Their contribution to final victory will be 
     long remembered.''
       Earlier, ``Ike'' had said, ``When final victory is ours 
     there is no organization that will share its credit more 
     deservedly than the Merchant Marine.''
       I hope all Americans, whether from desert, mountain, or 
     prairie regions or coastal states, will pause on National 
     Maritime Day, May 22, 1995, to remember General Eisenhower's 
     words and the heroic deeds of our merchant marine war 
     veterans.
       Like our military veterans, they deserve our thanks and our 
     recognition for securing the freedom we enjoy today.
     

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