Nobody knows the perils of the ocean without facing it's fury and ferocity. In society at large, when faced with adversity, many seek to escape the tempest in any way possible, sacrificing their own integrity and people around them to save themselves. On the ocean there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. By the very nature of an ocean's vastness and solitude, a person's charachter is inevitably exposed in the knowledge that when faced with disaster, your shipmates depend on you as you do on them. The sacrifices made by mariners and their families are counted in months and years away from loved ones.
Time can never be re-captured, each precious moment is deducted from the total sum of life itself.
To accept this painful knowledge without complaint is silent courage. For comprehensive information regarding the Merchant Mariners' contributions to allied victory in WW2, and the shameless lack of recognition that followed, please visit our link page.