WWII Seamen Request Thank You Payments

About 9,500 mariners died during the war
by Dean Kahn

Left, World War II Merchant Marine Poster

PENDING LEGISLATION Parallel bills in Congress, H.R. 23 and S. 961, would provide “thank-you” payments to World War II seamen. Cosponsors include U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.  

Some of the aging mariners still burn with resentment over how they were treated after World War II.

That was evident at last week’s monthly meeting of local Merchant Marine veterans, seamen who moved troops, ammo and other supplies around the war-torn world.

Despite their service and their high fatality rate, it took a federal court ruling in 1988 before merchant mariners won formal status as veterans…

Oh, sure, some seamen dodged death’s shadow, including local mariners like Stan Samuelson and Pete Kuehnel. But nearly 9,500 mariners died in the war, a higher death rate than the Marines or any other segment of the service.

Seamen died in POW camps. They died in flames when the enemy attacked freighters carrying fuel and ammo. They died when submarine crews sank their ships, rammed their lifeboats, then left survivors to the sharks.

“We know what we did,” said Glenn Johnson of Bellingham, president of the 40-member San Juan Chapter of American Merchant Marine Veterans. “We served well. We lost shipmates.”

Yet mariners were denied GI benefits after the war, other veterans groups poohpoohed them, and some people called them draft dodgers, even though military recruiters had steered many young men into the Merchant Marine.

No wonder debate is emotional about a federal bill that would provide World War II seamen a lifetime benefit of $1,000 a month. Quick passage is critical for the 10,800 seamen who would benefit, because many of the mariners are now in their 80s.

“I’m not too sure we’re going to live long enough to see it,” said Samuelson, 81.

Merchant mariners were civilian seamen who came under government control during the war. Given gunnery training, they worked on slow-moving freighters that hauled troops, gasoline, tanks, aviation fuel, food and other goods.

Willis Ray of Bellingham nearly was one of the war’s victims. He was a seaman aboard an ammo ship at Okinawa in 1945 when kamikazes appeared. Ray said his ship managed to reach open sea and shoot down three of the suicide planes, including one near the stern.

“A lot of pieces came flying over the ship,” he said.

The $1,000 payments would go to seamen who served in foreign waters between Dec. 7, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946. Such proposals haven’t gone far in Congress, but the new Democratic majority named California Rep. Bob Filner, a supporter of the idea, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Critics say the bill could encourage payments for other groups, including others accorded veteran status through the years, plus the thousands of civilian contractors in Iraq.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opposes the bill, saying it would grant mariners excess benefits, and would cost $1.4 billion over 10 years. Another estimate puts the cost at $2.9 billion.

Mariners say the payments amount to a belated “thank you” for a group denied veteran status and veteran benefits for far too long.

The 1944 GI Bill of Rights extended lifetime benefits to other veterans, but not mariners. Seamen weren’t entitled to the education money, low-interest loans, employment preference, unemployment benefits and other rewards that helped returning vets attend college, land jobs and buy homes.

Some mariners, like Samuelson, qualified for benefits later because they were drafted to fight in Korea.

John Burley was a seaman from July 1944 to September 1946, ferrying supplies and escaping harm in the South Pacific. He didn’t serve in Korea, so he was never in line for benefits.

“Figured I’d have to make my own way in life, so I did,” Burley said.

He ended up working in the Bellingham Police Department for 24 years, including more than two years as police chief. Burley favors monthly payments for his fellow seamen.

“It’s a long-overdue payment,” he said. “All we can do is try.”

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