Editor’s note: This article was written and submitted by World War II mariner Mark Gleeson, a longtime activist with the American Merchant Marine Veterans.
I admire good writing. There are thousands of books written each year, and thousands of speeches presented, but what do you remember? What was written or said that captured the feeling, the intensity of the moment?
An example is in the relatively recent book written by former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher where he describes talking to his father, who is very ill. Bill was proposing further treatments for his father, but the father replies, “I’ve had enough, Billie.” The book is good, but those few words have stuck with me.
Good writers probably read a lot, and it is important to read to see how other writers handle situations and emotions. President Franklin Roosevelt was a great writer and is forever remembered for his appeal to the nation to stay calm in the Great Depression when he said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Winston Churchill was a superb writer and the right man at the time. Those of us from my generation all remember him saying, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few.” He was speaking about the role of the Royal Air Force in winning the Battle of Britain. Dr. Martin Luther King is remembered for the “I have a dream” speech, and the late Dr. Charles Krauthammer wrote on every subject, and no one was better.
I have had several opportunities to be slightly creative in writing – to find the right words, the right phrase, for the right occasion.
I was honored many years ago to be the main speaker at the first National Maritime Day program of the Mon Valley chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. I had been serving as co-chairman of a national committee seeking recognition of WWII merchant seamen. Even in those days, such memorial presentations couldn’t take long, as men are sitting in the sun – and what could I really say that was so important? In the audience were our shipmates and veterans from all the other services. We were so honored.
I remember outlining what we had been doing to gain veteran recognition, and then listed a few specific events that few people knew about from WWII. Convoys that were famous, invasions participated in, the breakwaters formed on D-Day by sinking ships off Omaha Beach. I bemoaned the fact that most of these events were unknown to the public. I came to the end of my presentation and asked the attendees to pause at the end of a day, when the rivers were calm and quiet, and I said, “Tell me, shipmates, who tolls the bell for us?” I answered my own question when I said, “We do, only we here in Elizabeth do.”
I finished my presentation and was expecting someone to comment on my using an inspiration from Ernest Hemingway. The only person who said anything was a local reporter who asked if I had a copy of the speech. I am pleased that through the years, others have picked up “who tolls the bell” and used it. It always fits.
My last opportunity to say something significant in a few words came in 1990 when I was invited to address a monthly meeting of the John Brown Chapter of veterans in Baltimore. We had finished a 10-year congressional fight to pass legislation finally recognizing merchant seamen who had not gotten to sea until after August 15, 1945. The Department of Defense had refused to recognize the men although the war was not officially over until the end of 1946.
I flew to Baltimore, and took a cab to the motel where the luncheon meeting was to be held. Some friends of mine from Pittsburgh, including some Armed Guard, had driven down to be with me. I remember several attendees were in their officer uniforms, including some captains. After lunch, I gave my presentation, which was really a listing of events over the prior 10 years. I came to the end of the talk, thanked everyone for their support, stopped for a few seconds, fixed the audience with my eyes, and said: “Recognized at last. Recognized at last. Thanks God almighty, we’re recognized at last.”
I waited a few seconds, said thank you, and sat down. A polite applause, no requests for a copy of the speech, no interviews. No one said how fitting it was that I had drawn reference to Martin Luther King saying, “Free at last.” I came home with my citation.
I write vignettes on the WWII merchant marine. I often include a phrase written by someone describing the wartime experience. I include, “Never again will the world see such a fleet of ships, and never again will the world see such a group of men who sailed them.”
Whover first wrote that could not have said it better.
Two years ago, Congress presented the WWII merchant mariners with a Congressional Gold Medal. We are the men of the WWII merchant marine. Recognized at last.
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