As the world battles the spread of COVID-19, a moment is taken to honor the unsung heroes of World War II

In American Maritime Officers, we are working on behalf of AMO members and applicants everywhere to stay on top developments in the realms of merchant and sealift shipping that will affect U.S. merchant mariners, and to provide as much practical information and assistance as possible under the circumstances as our nation and the world battle the spread of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease.

As the fight against this pandemic has gripped the globe and consumed a sizable share of public life, the media and the markets, something separate and completely unrelated occurred last Friday that I would like to call attention to now - a moment that must not be allowed to pass without notice - hearkening to a time when the Allied Nations of the world faced a common enemy and prevailed.

I'm speaking of course about World War II. On March 13, President Trump signed into law the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019, which provides for a Congressional Gold Medal to be awarded to the U.S. Merchant Marine veterans of World War II in honor of their invaluable service and immense sacrifice in delivering the U.S. military to foreign shores and keeping the Allied Forces equipped there until the war had been won. Under the act, the medal will be given to and displayed by the American Merchant Marine Museum.

The struggle for this recognition has been borne by the remaining U.S. merchant mariners of World War II and their children, and by the people and the organizations who understand and recognize the unquestionable merit of their cause.

California Democratic Congressman John Garamendi championed the Gold Medal legislation in the House of Representatives and Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski did the same in the Senate, both working with tenacity in multiple sessions of Congress to achieve the enactment of this measure of honor for, as Senator Murkowski put it, "the unsung heroes of World War II."

An editorial in the New York Post by the White House Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Peter Navarro, helped telegraph the enactment of the legislation - commentary well worth reading on the newspaper's website.

In a statement posted the same day, the President of the American Maritime Partnership coalition, Mike Roberts, said: "We applaud this bipartisan action that honors these extraordinary American heroes. Since the earliest days of our nation's existence, America has relied on a strong domestic maritime capability. During World War II, almost 250,000 merchant mariners transported tens of millions of tons of war supplies and more than seven million servicemen under the most challenging circumstances imaginable. Their actions were heroic and courageous yet second nature to them. We all owe these heroes a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid."

The coalition noted that World War II merchant mariners suffered the highest per capita casualty rate in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, with one mariner out of every 26 lost. Of the 250,000 merchant mariners deployed, an estimated 8,300 mariners lost their lives, and another 12,000 were wounded. Yet, these mariners who put their lives on the line were not provided veteran status until 1988.

As Dr. Navarro pointed out in the Post: "These valiant civilian mariners provided the unbroken pipelines that got America's domestic production to its fighting forces and allies overseas, providing equipment, fuel, food, assorted commodities and raw materials to every corner of the globe and every theater of war." However, the "statistics alone don't capture the sufferings of our merchant mariners, who struggled to survive in crowded lifeboats or on flimsy rafts among flotsam in thick oil slicks. During the war, more than 800 vessels were sunk."

I'm proud to say that my father, Ray Doell, was a World War II merchant mariner. He survived three torpedo attacks during the war, and - like so many others - made it home only to sign on to the next ship to get the job done for the U.S. Armed Forces.

In AMO, we are all members of a union founded nearly 71 years ago by U.S. Merchant Marine veterans of World War II, including my father, who served 10 years ashore in various positions with the new union - including Secretary-Treasurer - before returning to sea on his Chief Engineer's license.

Even now, as we face a pandemic and endure restriction and difficulty to protect health and safety, we can all pause for a moment to celebrate the long overdue recognition bestowed upon our merchant marine veterans of World War II and to honor their uniquely American service and sacrifice.

Paul Doell
National President