For Recertified Bosun Rafael “Monte” Pereira, seeing photos of his father’s name in the “Roll of Honor Book” located at the Mariners Chapel in Kings Point, N.Y., fulfilled a longtime ambition.Pereira’s father, John, sailed as first engineer aboard the Velma Lykes. John lost his life when the general cargo ship was sunk by a German torpedo on June 5, 1942 in the Yucatan Channel. Monte Pereira was about two months shy of his third birthday when the Velma Lykes went down, claiming the lives of 15 of its 32 men.
“The mariners who shipped out after 1942 had a reasonable chance of surviving, but [the enemies] were really knocking them off at the beginning, off the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf,” noted Pereira, referring to the high casualty rate suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. “The people who went out there deserve some acknowledgement.”
Recognition exists at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s chapel, which opened in 1961. The facility features a book (housed in a display case in front of the altar) listing the names, ranks or ratings, ships and dates of sinking of more than 7,000 mariners who made the ultimate sacrifice in World Wars I and II. (The SIU also has a memorial located at its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. The names of all 1,235 SIU members who died in World War II are listed on it. John Pereira was a member of MEBA.)
Monte Pereira heard about the memorial at Kings Point years ago, but never had the opportunity to visit the chapel. After others had failed to deliver on promises to photograph the book (showing John’s name) and the chapel, a Kings Point cadet whom Pereira met in Houston came through last year. The bosun appreciated it, and said that upon seeing the photos, he felt “proud and grateful that they do keep memorials like that.”
The altar is inscribed with the following words: “This chapel is built to the glory of God and to commemorate the sacrifices of the officers and men of the United States Merchant Marine who gave their lives at sea, in enemy action, in World Wars I and II, and whose names are recorded in its Roll of Honor.”
Pereira, who joined the union in 1962 in Houston, also knows firsthand about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role as the nation’s fourth arm of defense. He sailed during Vietnam, and believes the general public “is not aware enough” of what mariners and the U.S.-flag fleet mean to national and economic security. Memorials like those in Piney Point and Kings Point at least help remind visitors about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s proud history. In the case of the Velma Lykes, the risks taken by mariners are painfully evident in written accounts. Travelling unescorted, the vessel was struck on its starboard side by one torpedo launched from the U-158. The Velma Lykes sank in one minute – too quickly for crew members to launch the lifeboats.
The 17 survivors were picked up the next day by a convoy. Four days later, their new ship was sunk, though the men from the Velma Lykes survived. On June 30, American aircraft dropped depth charges on the U-158 west of the Bermudas. All 54 men aboard the German U-boat were killed.
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