The world is a little more aware of both the history of the SIU and the role played by the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, thanks to the writings of Pensioner John Bunker, who died of natural causes Dec. 11 at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 89.With a degree in journalism from the University of Pittsburgh, Bunker joined the SIU in 1942, sailing in the engine department as a wiper, fireman, oiler and deck engineer, mostly aboard Waterman Steamship Corp. vessels.
SIU-crewed ships saw lots of action during World War II. And Bunker, as a member of the “black gang,” shoveled coal into the furnaces that kept the vital cargo going through the multiple hazards of the conflict.
He served aboard seven ships during those war years, sailing in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Middle East, Pacific and Mediterranean theaters of operation. While aboard the Jonathan Grout during the invasion of Sicily, he experienced some 40 air raids, one of which sank the ship next to his.
“The blast felt like the ship was lifted out of the water,” he recalled in an earlier interview with the Seafarers LOG.
During a submarine attack, a torpedo missed the Grout and sank a transport in the next column. Then, while sailing aboard the Waterman vessel Bayou Chico, he experienced rocket attacks on Antwerp, Belgium by German V-1 and V-2 rockets.
Accounts of these experiences were sent to the LOG for publication in the “Fore N Aft” column.
After the war, Bunker starting collecting the stories of other mariners who had served their country aboard merchant ships during World War II.
In 1951, he wrote The Seafarers in World War II, a 44-page journal that recounted the contributions of SIU members during the conflict. Copies of the document were sent to members of Congress to emphasize the vital role played by the merchant marine.
Bunker served on the editorial staffs of the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Dayton Journal-Herald, the San Diego Evening Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor, handling a wide range of assignments — everything from feature writing, military reporting and waterfront coverage. He also handled public relations for the National Federation of American Shipping and served as chairman of the Advisory Board of the New York State Maritime Museum.
In the 1970s, SIU President Paul Hall asked Bunker to work with the union on special projects. Hall was very interested in union history and had Bunker compile an account of the old International Seamen’s Union and the SIU. This material came from many sources around the country and now serves as a unique historical resource in the Paul Hall Library and Maritime Museum at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md.
Bunker also wrote an award-winning history of the SIU, which appeared in the LOGa continuing series from 1980 to 1983.
He retired from the SIU in 1980, shortly after Hall’s death. His book Heroes in Dungarees, The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II, was published in 1995.
Liberty Ships: The Ugly Ducklings of World War II, Harbor and Haven: An Illustrated History of the Port of New York and a history of the American merchant marine, which appeared serially in U.S. Flag, published by the Transportation Institute, an organization dedicated to the promotion of the U.S. merchant fleet.
Bunker is survived by his daughter, Beverly Bozung. Funeral services were conducted Dec. 18 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
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