|
|---|
American Merchant Marine Veterans2008-06-30 12:57:59 I wish I'd had more time at the annual convention in Portland of the American Merchant Marine Veterans, of which I’m a proud member. I wish I could hang out more with these guys. Every one of these World War II merchant mariners that I meet, I wish I knew better.
So many books, so little time. And they’re all books.
May 22, over Memorial Day, the American Merchant Marine Veterans held their annual convention at the Red Lion Hotel, on the Columbia River at the foot of the bridge into WashingtonState where I live, and I’m proud of that too.
Only state in the union whose governor and both senators are women, and every time I read or hear something that one of them said or did, I go, “Yes!” How many people can say that about their state?
I first connected with the AMMV thanks to Frank Dooley, an 80something firebrand who was a merchant mariner until he was 50something, and then for his next career began practicing law. He was president of the AMMV at the time, and generously read the manuscript of At All Costs for technical errors.
For the publication of At All Costs, they held a parade in New York City, right up Fifth Avenue. It was Veterans Day. Dooley invited me to ride on the AMMV float, a big lifeboat. It was a beautiful November day in the city, and I rode with maybe a dozen guys whose war stories I wanted to hear. But we had to be there for the crowd, waving back to our fans, who were showing their appreciation for veterans by applauding as we passed.
During WWII, the Merchant Marine suffered the highest percentage of men killed in action: 3.9 percent, compared to 2.94 Marines, 2.08 Army, and 0.88 Navy. More than 9,500 merchant mariners died in the sinking of 1554 U.S. ships, and another 11,000 were wounded. Some were blown up, some incinerated, some drowned, some froze, and some starved to death or died of disease in prison camps or on enemy transport ships.
By far the best site with Merchant Marine information is www.usmm.org, run by Toni Horodysky, an expert who also read the manuscript of At All Costs, and who helped correct a number of technical errors. I lifted these photos from that site.
With so much fuel being transported during WWII, many of the ships went down in flames—infernos. This specter hangs over and sometimes assaults At All Costs, as the convoy makes its way to Malta, dodging mines and stalked by German U-boats, Italian torpedo boats, and Luftwaffe dive bombers in Stukas.
The U.S. Government hid the casualties and sinkings from the public. During 1942, an average of 33 Allied ships were sunk per week, but the newspapers were only told about less than 10 percent of them, for fear there would be no more Merchant Marine recruits, who were desperately needed. Some 1700 Allied ships were sunk in ’42, while 750 ships were built in the U.S. But in 1943, with thousands of volunteers into the Merchant Marine, it was turned around: 1900 ships built, and 600 sunk.
There’s a Bill now in the Senate, passed by the House a year ago, that would provide $1000 per month to WWII Merchant Marine veterans or their widows. They were never compensated after the war, as military veterans were. This bill, called the Belated Thank You to The Merchant Mariners of World War II Act, is still awaiting a vote. Which means that after more than 60 years, merchant mariner veterans are still waiting to be compensated by the government, for their sacrifice in defense of our country.
It’s stalled in the Senate Committee for Veterans Affairs, being held from a floor vote by Senator Akaka of Hawaii. If he keeps it from a vote until August, when Congress goes on recess, it’ll probably die. That appears to be the idea. These are budget-crunching times, and to give money to these vets from 65 years ago, when we have to think about paying for the psychological and physical injuries to our Iraq vets—well, the old guys are easier to ignore. Soon they’ll all be gone anyhow.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Act would cost $600 million over the next five years. The first $120 million will go to 10,000 vets 85 or older, and naturally the money would be spent on food and health care, to prolong their lives and make them more comfortable in their final years. But too many in Congress either believe the country can't afford it, or the veterans don't deserve it.
Six hundred million dollars is less than it’s costing us to be in Iraq for two days.
Oh, the things we could do, the ways this country could be great, if we weren’t so stupid and afraid. Allowing our leaders to invade a country for its oil, and convince enough of us that it was necessary for our safety.
I started out writing a different blog here, about gypsies in the lobby of the Red Lion and Toni Horodysky leading me around by the hand to peddle books at cocktail hour, but … so many stories, so little space.
Sam Moses Previous Blogs: SS Ohio Inducted into National Maritime Hall of Fame 2008-03-14 15:36:39 The legendary tanker SS Ohio, whose wooden decks are the stage for some of the scenes in my book “At All Costs,” was inducted into the National Maritime Hall of Fame at a luncheon ceremony in New York on Saturday, January 26. The Hall of... Read More Top Ten Reasons 2007-03-01 09:21:48 TOP 10 REASONS Why You Should Buy the Book At All Costs (As taken from the first 10 reviews posted on Amazon.com by readers of At All Costs, by Sam Moses. These are actual quotes. You could look it up.) 10.... Read More Note to Booksellers 2007-02-01 08:58:31 In 1942, the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Hitler needed Malta as a stepping-stone to get to the Persian oil. To Churchill, Malta was the crux of the war. "At All Costs"... Read More Note to Librarians 2007-01-01 08:54:14 For most of the two intense years it took to research and write "At All Costs," there were some 200 history books, biographies and memoirs piled around my desk. Nowhere among them did I find the story told here, about the importance of the... Read More Chapter 4: Fire Down Below 2006-12-10 17:19:44 Fred Larsen’s Irish grandfather, the woodcarver Christopher Melia, and William Russell Grace, who founded Grace Line after emigrating from Ireland, were about the same age and had the same eye for beauty. Had they lived long enough to see... Read More Chapter 3: Loose Cannon 2006-12-01 07:35:38 At twenty-eight, Lieutenant Reinhard Hardegen, a German U-boat captain, was a loose cannon. He carried unchecked ambition and relentless intensity along with his war wounds—a short leg and bleeding stomach—from the aviation... Read More Random House Releases "At All Costs" 2006-11-06 16:58:43 “Thrillingly told and beautifully researched, AT ALL COSTS is not just the against-all-odds story of the saving of Malta, but also of how the fate of nations can turn on the personal bravery of two ordinary men.” —Robert... Read More Back to Blog list | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOME | AT ALL COSTS | FAST GUYS RICH GUYS AND IDIOTS | BANDIT BLOG | ROAD TEST BLOG | SENOR MADRE | RIVER WITHOUT A CAUSE | SAM MOSES BIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright 2008 Sam Moses | |||||||