World War II-era merchant mariners' hopes that they would get a monthly check to make up for GI benefits they were denied more than 60 years ago are growing dim.
Federal legislation that passed the House earlier this year is now stalled in a Senate committee with no action in sight.
It's a shame, said Langley Land, an 86-year-old Virginia Beach resident who served in the Merchant Marine and witnessed Nazi U-boat attacks in the North Atlantic during the war.
Merchant mariners deserve the benefit, he said - "They served a very vital job, and they were exposed to danger as much as active service members."
The legislation, which would pay $1,000 a month to each qualified surviving merchant mariner, has drawn criticism during committee hearings from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which argues that it provides special compensation to one group of people.
The VFW and other opponents point out that since the late 1980s, merchant mariners who served in World War II have been entitled to disability pensions and medical care.
Leaders of a nonprofit group pushing for the monthly stipend argue that those belated benefits don't make up for what was denied to them when they came home to restart their lives after the war ended in 1945.
VFW leaders say it's a matter of fairness.
"The $1,000 a month payment matches what the government awards Medal of Honor recipients," said the VFW's Washington spokesman Joe Davis. "Yes, the merchant marines provided an invaluable service.... But they were not members of the United States' military."
Opponents also say the merchant mariners are the same as the modern-day private contractors who are hired by the government to provide services in Iraq and Afghanistan. So any benefit awarded to them could set a costly precedent.
When Frank Warren thinks back to his days serving in the Merchant Marine during World War II, he remembers the guys who were denied entry into the military but still wanted to be a part of the war effort.
"I sailed with men who had an artificial leg or one eye. They couldn't serve anywhere else, but they could serve their country that way," said Warren, now 88 and retired in Virginia Beach.
He led them as a Merchant Marine officer on trips through enemy waters to bring weapons and goods to the European theater. Their ship was among the convoys that brought American war goods via the Persian Gulf to supply Russian troops fighting the Nazis on the Eastern Front.
When the war ended, Warren, who served in the Navy before switching to the Merchant Marine, was able to take advantage of the revolutionary 1944 GI Bill of Rights, which gave compensation as well as college education money, home loans and other benefits to returning veterans.
But his shipmates, by virtue of their status as merchant mariners, were prohibited from collecting the benefits.
They could have sat out the war, but they wanted to do their part, he said. "These people deserve credit."
Jake Thompson, spokesman for U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who sponsored the Senate version of the compensation bill, said supporters hope to find a away to amend it to another bill sometime during the current congressional session, which ends in late 2010.
"It's not clear where it will go," Thompson said.
The House of Representatives passed a bill in May approving the payment, but the House measure and Nelson's are on hold in the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. Last year, similar legislation died after inaction by the same committee. Its chairman, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, has not taken a position on the bill this year.
If the current effort fails, the issue will likely be dropped, said Sindy Raymond, who helps administer the non profit Just Compensation Committee.
Surviving war-era mariners are dying of old age every day. There may be about 10,000 still alive, she said, but their enthusiasm is waning.
"They're getting tired of calling senators," she said.
Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com
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Merchant Marine
It is, but probably shouldn't be, astonishing that so many hold opinions (and we all know what those are like) on a subject they obviously know so little about. My father was a Merchant Mariner in WWII. In 1942 at the age of 18 he was found "physically unfit" for service in every branch that he tried to enlist in. The Merchant Marine had an overwhelming need for men to crew ships. He was accepted by the Merchant Marine as an ordinary seaman. His ship. the tanker Sunoil was sunk April 4, 1943 with the loss of all hands, including 25 US Navy "Armed Guard", in the North Atlantic 1 month before I was born.
Educate yourselves then express an "opinon". Here's some links that may be of some assistance in that endeavor:
http://www.usmm.org/salary.html and
http://www.usmm.org/ww2.html
To compare these brave men with the Blackwater mercenaries is offensive and a grevious insult to their memory.
Do the surviving few deserve that $1K/month - in my "opinion" yes they do - a whole lot more than those do-nothings with their hands out for the welfare dole.
Good post...
So sorry that your father made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to our nation. But their memory, and stories, should be told.
I think it's a disservice...
to lump these people in with private contractors in Iraq and other places, and to say that they, or at least some of them, didn't face and/or take part in combat is just plain stupid! Maybe that should be the critieria, those who were part of genuine combat situations should be eligible. Certainly, until a point in 1943, the U-boat and 'Condor' (German long range maritime patrol/attack aircraft) threat was quite real. Until late 1941, there was a considerable surface threat as well. Allied actions and measures after that time certainly made the routes thru the Atlantic much safer, in time almost routine. But anyone who suggests that these people didn't face as much danger as naval personnel in the same theatres just doesn't know squat about their military history. Give them their due..
Full picture...
I certainly agree that merchant mariners play an important role in both peace and wartime....but so do many other civilian employees and they don't receive military benefits either.
I would be interested in knowing what a merchant marine made back then in comparison to a military member, their benefits, etc. For example, couldn't a merchant marine say "I quit!" and legally walk away? A military member can't do that.
My other question is, what was promised to these merchant mariners? Were they promised something they didn't receive? Or, are they asking for something they feel they deserve, but was never offered?
GI Bennifits for Merchant Marines
The term Merchant Marine is a miss nomer they are and were MERCHANT SAILORS as in merchandise, they were then and are now private people working for private companies having no direct link to the military or government and by that fact are not, never were and should not be entitled to military bennifits called GI.
JUST AS DESERVING AS THE REST!
Likening WWII merchant mariners to contractors like blackwater mercenaries is a disgrace. Most merchant mariners were US Govt employees sailing on US Govt owned ships, carrying US Govt bullets, tanks, food, and even soldiers to the war fronts. The war could not move without these supplies. The ships that these men sailed on were defenseless, and they were in just as much of harms way as any other navy vessel underway during the war, if not more. So they weren't on the ground getting shot at with bullets. But they were underway getting shot at with torpedoes. These men are just as deserving of benefits as the rest. They risked just as much as everyone else regardless of their lack of uniform and how much they were paid.
Re; Not in Combat?
The mariners may not have been paid squat by today's standards. However, that squat was a whole lot more than a comparable military member was receiving. I believe they, the merchant mariners , were employees of companies that had contracts with the government. Let the companies who made mega bucks on the war reimburse them if it is deserved.
Not in Combat?
Over 8000 merchant marine died in WW II due to enemy action , over 10,000 were wounded . My uncle had a ship torpedoed out from under him in the Irish Sea . The invasion of Normandy (D-Day ) couldn't have happened without the merchant marine and they didn't get paid squat .
Merchant Mariners
Blackwater Mercenaries that was used to guard American diplomats and VIP's, however, they were given contracts to served, and paid well by the government. Same thing goes to the Merchant Mariners, Defense Department hired them to bring supplies and weapons to war zones area. They were not engaged in combat, therefore, they are not entitled to benefits suited for service members. Furthermore, there are still hundreds of wartime veterans still in need of help, yet being denied of entitlements to be taken care of.
Denied benefits?
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't somebody who worked as a merchant marine, say during WWII, make more money than the average sailor who fought in WWII? Don't get me wrong, but I think these guys already made their money. Spend it on the vets. Remember, it wasn't terribly long ago that we wanted to stop spending money on WWII vets...