Julie A. Nelson

Deputy Maritime Administrator

National Maritime Day Observance

American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial

San Pedro, CA

11 a.m.

Thank you, (John Pitts, President of the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial Committee), for that kind introduction, and thank you for inviting me to be part of your observance of National Maritime Day.

And thank you to all of you who are veterans, especially those of you who have served in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Thank you for your service.

Congratulations to the committee that raised the money to build this beautiful memorial. It is a moving testimony to the vital work of the merchant marine.

Merchant mariners have defended the freedom of the United States even before we were the United States. It was civilian mariners in Machias, Maine, who defeated the British in a nautical skirmish on June 12, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. The service of the merchant marine in peace and war continues to this day, but what so many of us remember most is the sacrifices of merchant mariners in World War II.

More than 215-thousand served in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. They and their shipmates of the Navy Armed Guard sailed all over the world. The war the Allies fought depended on cargo brought by our merchant ships. Our merchant ships carried nearly 270-billion long tons of cargo. The average rate of delivery in 1945 was 17-million pounds every hour. Merchant mariners were the first to go to war—merchant ships were being captured and sunk even before Pearl Harbor. They were the last to return; it was ships sailed by merchant mariners that brought the GI’s home.

More than 6-thousand American seafarers lost their lives. No branch of the Armed Services suffered a higher death rate.

We should all remember that none of them had to go. Nobody was drafted into the merchant marine. And yet they went: some of them in their 70s, and some of them in their teens. They were all volunteers. And I say again, to all merchant marine veterans, thank you for your service.

The Maritime Administration, which I represent, descends from the agency that built the Liberty ships and the Victory ships, and recruited merchant mariners in World War II. The merchant marine still performs vital services today: 90-percent of the materiel for the global War on Terrorism moves by water, on ships crewed by the merchant marine.

This beautiful monument shows a rescue with a Jacob’s ladder. Merchant mariners continue to use their ingenuity and skill to provide aid and service in all kinds of emergency circumstances. In the difficult days on the Gulf Coast, in the days following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ships provided by the Maritime Administration served as barracks quarters for rescue and recovery workers, for police and port workers, and for many others, for a period of six months. The Director of the Port of New Orleans told us those ships, and the help they gave, were critical for the quick recovery of the port.

We are proud of the work of those merchant mariners, as we are proud of the work of so many members of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Their work is vital. Let us always hold their memory precious.

Thank you.