The Apostleship of the Sea of the United States recently passed the following resolution in support of H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2005. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), H.R. 23 calls for a monthly benefit to be paid to WWII mariners or their widows in lieu of benefits not received after World War II.A Resolution to Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2005
WHEREAS, the World War II U.S. Merchant Marine made victory possible by being the First to go into Action with 243 Killed in Action prior to Pearl Harbor and amongst the first Prisoners of War and were also the Last to Return with 54 ships damaged by mines with in theater loss of life after V-E and V-J Day;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered the Highest Casualty Rate with 1 in 26 Killed in Action to include 1,500 ships sunk, 9,300 mariners killed, and 12,000 wounded;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Merchant Marine Delivered the Men and Material that made victory possible, participating in every invasion from Normandy to Okinawa;
WHEREAS, U.S. Merchant Mariners Manned the Ships by being recruited and trained by the U.S. Maritime Service, increasing from 55,000 to a wartime high of 250,000 seamen;
WHEREAS, U.S. Merchant Mariners were Denied Veteran Benefits to include unemployment, education, home or small business loans, priority of postwar jobs and medical care for disabilities;
WHEREAS, U.S. Merchant Mariners Struggled for Veteran Status and finally received veterans status in 1988, over 40 years after the end of the war;
WHEREAS, U.S. Representatives Bob Filner (D-CA) and 120 others have cosponsored House Resolution 23 of the 109th Congress to amend Title 46, United States Code, and Title II of the Social Security Act to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II;
WHEREAS, this Act may also be cited as the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2005;”
WHEREAS, this Act provides $1,000 per month to WWII mariners or their widows in lieu of benefits not received after World War II. The Bill also gives Social Security credit for time served in the merchant marine, like the credit given to others who served in the Army or Navy;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America meeting during its 2005 Annual Conference at the California Maritime Academy wishes to express its most sincere support for H.R. 23 of the 109th Congress to pass a Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II.
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