SIU member Karen Domerego said she “represented every Seafarer who worked in support of our troops” when she received the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta during a Maritime Day ceremony conducted May 22 at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Domerego, who sails as an AB, served for four months aboard the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ship Cape John during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The vessel delivered bombs and other ammunition to Kuwait for U.S. armed forces.
Mineta and U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao spoke at the ceremony hosted by the U.S. Maritime Administration. Each offered strong praise for U.S. mariners past and present, as did U.S. Maritime Administrator Captain William Schubert.
Additionally, General Richard Myers, U.S. Air Force, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided keynote remarks later that day during the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) Maritime Day ceremony at the Navy Yard in Washington. Myers said that U.S. mariners “are some of the nation’s often unsung heroes, but you are heroes. The merchant marine throughout history has been an important part of our military and economic strength.”
Vice Admiral David Brewer, commander of MSC, introduced Myers to the audience and also commended the reliability of the U.S. Merchant Marine throughout our nation’s history.
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