WWII Merchant Seamen Want Final Recognition
Sailors who saw action want honorable discharge
by Robert Steyer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 11, 1998 Dressed in dark blue jackets and blue hats emblazoned with a ship design, a group of aging mariners gathered recently to ask for recognition and respect.
All they want is to be considered like other men and women who served in World War II.
They want to receive honorable discharges rather than a bureaucratic byproduct called a "certificate of substantially continuous service." They want a chance to be buried in a national cemetery.
"What is the big deal about a grave in a national cemetery, a flag for our family and an honorable discharge," said Bill Hessi of Affton. "We don't want any education assistance or home loans."
Hessi is one of some 2,500 merchant seamen still alive there are 48 in Missouri and 75 in Illinois - who have been in military-bureaucratic limbo for decades.For purposes of providing benefits and recognizing veterans' service, President Harry S Truman declared that World War II officially ended Dec. 31, 1946, even though Germany surrendered in May 1945 and Japan announced its unconditional surrender in August 1945.
All sections of the armed forces use the 1946 cutoff date; but merchant sailors are subject to a cutoff date of Aug. 15, 1945.
That angers these seamen because many trained during the last months of the hostilities, and many served on ships during the postwar period when seaways were still littered with German and Japanese mines. Merchant seamen received honorable discharges only if they served before Aug. 15, 1945.
Merchant marine veterans' groups say 12 ships hit mines and 27 merchant seamen lost their lives during this period.
Hessi, who began his training in November 1944 but wasn't assigned to a ship until October 1945, is supported by merchant marine veterans who served before the fighting ceased.
All who signed up for ships that carried war supplies were volunteers except for the navy gunners who accompanied them, said John Ludwig of Affton.
"When we went to boot camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 1943, the recruiter said, `Some of you won't see St. Louis again, so now's the time to get out of line,' " said Ludwig, who went with 50 other St. Louisans. "Our biggest concern was failing the physical."
George Ward of Arnold volunteered for duty even though he was blind in one eye. "A lot of us were 4-F," said Ward, discussing the armed forces' designation for people declared physically incapable of joining the military.
"All of us who volunteered were blind in both eyes," joked Mike Congardi of Mehlville. "We didn't realize how dangerous it was."
Ed Dierkes of Mehlville said he volunteered for service at age 16. Ward added that he served at sea with boys as young as 14 and men as old as 70.
Dierkes, Congardi, Ward and Ludwig are members of the S.S. Samuel Parker Chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans, in St. Louis. They served during the fighting and got honorable discharges.
They are helping Hessi and others lobby Congress to give those 2,500 merchant sailors the honor they believe is richly deserved.
For nine years, legislators have submitted proposals to Congress; in each year, the bills have never left a Senate or House committee. Supporters have proposed bills again this year.
This isn't the first domestic fight for the merchant seamen, who haven't been viewed as equals by members of the armed forces.
It was only in 1988 that the Department of Defense declined to appeal a ruling by a federal judge giving the sailors the same rights and privileges offered to other wartime civilian groups.
(During World War II, merchant seamen were placed under the control of the War Shipping Administration, a special federal agency, and given weaponry training by the Coast Guard and Navy.)
The merchant seamen veterans' group says 6,850 merchant sailors were killed and 11,000 were wounded during the war. The percentage of merchant seamen lost in the war was second only to the percentage of Marines killed.
The seamen's war role was resurrected recently when it was discovered that M. Larry Lawrence, the late ambassador to Switzerland, had lied about his war record. He was later disinterred from Arlington National Cemetery.
Lawrence had claimed he served in the merchant marine during World War II; and that was one reason why President Bill Clinton al lowed him to be buried in Arlington.
When Republican legislators first criticized Clinton about Lawrence, Hessi sent an e-mail letter to Clinton. He thanked the president for honoring the work of the merchant marine in World War II.
That was before it became clear that Lawrence had lied about his record.
Hessi was more saddened than infuriated. "When we saw Ambassador Lawrence was buried in Arlington, we were all in favor because, finally, we were getting national recognition," he said.
Today, St. Louis veterans of the high seas are trying to raise money to erect a plaque honoring merchant sailors and members of the Navy Armed Guard who died during World War II transporting military cargoes.
They cite praise by President Franklin D. Roosevelt - "They have shown the stuff of heroes" - as well as by military commanders who support their desire to be treated like others who served in World War II.
And they keep fighting for their friend and colleague Hessi. "We just have to keep pursuing it," Hessi said. "I just want the right to be buried at Jefferson Barracks."
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