PQ-17 and the Merchant Marine - submitted by Mickey Kappes
Post date: Jul 09, 2014 3:10:29 PM
THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING PIECE ON WWII--THE NAVY---AND MERCHANT MARINER ISSUES THEN AND NOW......
While we are celebrating the 238th anniversary of our independence, perhaps we should take a moment out of our festivities and try to remember the sacrifices made by a small segment of the"greatest generation" on a less fortunate anniversary. Few remember Convoy PQ-17.
Laden with desperately needed war materials for the Soviet Union, the American convoy rendezvoused with other Allied units at Reykjavik to form up under British command, then proceeded into Arctic waters. The convoy had more than adequate escort and was provided with an exceptionally heavy covering force including an aircraft carrier, 2 battleships, 4 heavy and 2 light cruisers, as well as a score of destroyers.
On 4 July 1942 Whitehall, acting on what was to prove to be erroneous intelligence that the Kriegsmarine battleship TIRPITZ was loose, issued the following orders:
"All warships will retire to the west at high speed". The warships withdrew at 32 knots leaving the convoy naked before its enemies. A second signal followed a few minutes later: "Convoy is to proceed independently", and, finally "Convoy is to scatter". That signal sealed the fate of the convoy. Deprived of its escort and covering force, what little protection was afforded by the ships' own defensive ordnance was thus negated (by scattering)..Alone in the Arctic seas they were allowed to die.To the bureaucrats in Whitehall and Washington they were expendable.
The senior American Naval officer present allowed these pusillanimous orders to stand rather than acting properly and independently.The American battleship, heavy cruisers, and destroyers acting alone could have defeated TIRPITZ and her consorts with their greater range, heavier ordnance, better fire control and superior speed
Taking the opportunity the Luftwaffe and the U-boats cooperated with each other--as they had never done before nor would do again--in hunting down the Allied merchant vessels one by one. More than 2/3 of the convoy was destroyed, along with their vital cargoes and crews. TIRPITZ, as it turned out, never left port.
The U.S. Merchant Marine sustained the highest per capita losses of any service group in World War II.
One in 18 Merchant Mariners were killed in action,died of wounds, missing and presumed dead or died while a prisoner of war, as compared with one in 48 of the rest of the armed services.
United States Merchant Mariners, despite their service, valor and sacrifice, when they returned to these shores found that they not only had to contend with the bombs, shells, and torpedoes of the enemy but the indifference, enmity, and outright discrimination from their fellow Americans and our government--victims of an exceedingly well-executed misinformation campaign. The lies and calumnies spread by the agents of Dr. Goebbels persist to this day. They were never officially refuted by the government and have become the generally accepted history and therefore justification for their ill-treatment.
They were excluded from American Red Cross and USO clubs and facilities. They were called "draft dodgers" yet many Merchant Mariners served above and below the draft age and/or were "unfit" for military service, yet they served with distinction. They were called "war profiteers" and yet their pay, which compared to Navy and Coast Guard of similar rank, was in the aggregate less. It was regulated by federal statute from the declaration of national emergency from the autumn of 1941 until after the end of hostilities..Their pay was only while their ship was under articles; that is, engaged on a voyage. They were not paid ashore and when their ship was sunk their pay stopped. A returning prisoner of war, unlike members of the armed forces, did not get any back pay and allowances. He received not a penny for his time in captivity. Next of kin received half of the death benefits that were paid to American servicemen.
The government did its part in sabotaging the war effort as well. Merchant Mariners, although federalized and militarized, ashore did not generally wear uniforms. They carried credentials attesting to their status but even agents of the FBI arrested Merchant Mariners for not having draft cards, even in some instances when hours before a Merchant Mariner was discharged from a U.S. Public Health Service Marine Hospital with documents attesting that he had been wounded by the enemy and was on recuperative leave. (Members of the armed services on active duty did not have draft cards either!) Survivors from a sinking, with only the oil-soaked clothes they wore, were called "bums" and "slackers" by their fellow citizens, and since they didn't have ration books had to get a special letter from the draft board to allow them to obtain new clothing. Veterans' groups, rather than claim Merchant Mariners as comrades in arms (which they truly were) proceeded to swallow hook, line, and sinker the enemy propaganda. Fueled by the veterans' groups' own prejudices (of Merchant Mariners, 15% were persons of color and 15% were Jews), Merchant Mariners were excluded from membership and the groups vigorously lobbied against any veterans' benefits or recognition for Merchant Mariners.
The phrase "there's a war on" justified this rude behavior, discrimination, and governmental indifference and they were never provided with anything approaching equity, justice, and recognition. In January 1987 partial recognition was achieved when a federal judge found that the government had wrongly discriminated against Merchant Mariners, but it was by no means equitable as to the Veterans' Bill of Rights.
Merchant Marine veterans today receive only partial recognition. Unlike members of the armed forces who served at any time between 3 September 1939 and 31 December 1946, Merchant Mariners are only eligible for service between Pearl Harbor and V-J Day and must have 180 days regardless of death or injuries (as opposed to 30 days and if injured or died in service the time requirement is waived) in spite of the fact that we lost ships and men before and after those dates. Using the criteria afforded other members of the armed services, some 5,000 Merchant Marine veterans are wrongly excluded.
They are still excluded from official remembrances and honors. They get a stone marker (optional) for their graves and flag for their coffins. Of the 17 monuments of the American Battle Monuments Commission mandated by Congress to memorialize America's war dead here and overseas, Merchant Mariners are not included. (State agencies similarly do not recognize Merchant Marine veteran status.) One of the excuses offered is that they were not "regular" members of the armed services and they were "noncombatants". It is interesting to note that members of the Reserve establishment and noncombatants accompanying the troops (such as war correspondents and photographers, Red Cross workers, and other agencies) are listed on the monuments as well. As to noncombatancy, the only German surface warship sunk by U.S. forces during World War II was sunk by an 18-year-old cadet-midshipman from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 142 cadet-midshipmen were killed in action against the enemy. The Army, the Navy, and the Coast Guard graduated and commissioned their cadets before they were sent off to die in war.
The Battle Monuments Commission has protested that these sacred monuments must remain untouched--except they have a trust fund to maintain and modify them. When a pair of dog tags is found in some forgotten field that service person's name, dates, rank, and state of origin gets engraved in government granite on the appropriate monument, and the monuments from World War I that were destroyed or damaged were rebuilt at government expense. Other monuments have been modified to meet the need. The Battle Monuments Commissions overlooks the "discovery" of some 12,000 dog tags belonging to Merchant Mariners, as well as ignoring World War I, Korean War, and Vietnam War Merchant Marine casualties.. You will not find Merchant Mariners resting under the manicured lawns of Arlington or other national cemeteries. For the most part, the bones of Merchant Mariners lie scattered over the oceans' floors, forgotten.
Merchant Mariners who have been granted veteran status have to pay for their original issuance of honorable discharge certificate and transcript of service, as they also must pay for the original issuance of any awards of service due them, unlike other members of the armed forces.
To this very day on Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans' Day and other patriotic occasions when the Salute to the Services Medley is played, the Merchant Marine song is missing. "Heave Ho, My Lads, Heave Ho" is nowhere to be heard. Unlike the other service heads, the personal representative of the Maritime Administration is not there to salute the colors. nor are Merchant Marine colors displayed.
The forgotten heroes of World War II have not fallen into the cracks of history--sadly, they were bulldozed, and few citizens care. At this late remove isn't it time that the
nation recognize their valor, service, and sacrifice before they're all gone?
B.D. Hammer, Executive Director
The Battle of the Atlantic Historical Society, Inc. (BATLANT)
P.O. Box 297281, Kingsway Station
Brooklyn, NY 11229-7281
(718) 377-0713