[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 102 (Friday, July 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       SALUTING ALFRED BEAUCHAMP

                                 ______


                            HON. JACK FIELDS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 29, 1994

  Mr. FIELDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to take a moment today to 
salute a constituent, Alfred Beauchamp of Spring, TX. Mr. Beauchamp is 
one of 40 American merchant mariners to be invited to Russia recently 
to participate in ceremonies honoring the merchant seamen who provided 
a lifeline between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 
dark days of World War II.
  In sharp contrast to our own Government, the Russian Government 
continues to acknowledge the important role merchant mariners played in 
ensuring an Allied victory in World War II. The Russian Government has 
for years held annual ceremonies honoring the foreign merchant seamen 
who helped sustain its people throughout World War II. In commemoration 
of the 50th anniversary of D-day, the Russian Government, with help 
from the United States Navy Memorial Foundation, flew 40 American 
merchant seamen to Russia to participate in a series of events designed 
to express to them the thanks of the Russian people.
  By February 1944, Mr. Beauchamp--who was only 15 at the time and who 
had lied about his age in order to contribute to the Allied war 
effort--found himself in Philadelphia, preparing to ship out to New 
York, where he and his shipmates aboard the Joseph C. Lincoln would 
cross the Atlantic to deliver war supplies.
  Mr. Beauchamp and his shipmates made it to New York, where the Joseph 
C. Lincoln joined a convoy that Mr. Beauchamp thought was headed for 
Odessa, Russia. In short order, he discovered that his ship was headed 
for Murmansk, on the northwest coast of Russia near the border with 
Finland.
  The voyage from New York to Murmansk was fraught with danger: the 
waters were heavily mined, packs of U-boats hunted down and sank Allied 
vessels, and--closer to the Russian coast--the German Luftwaffe and the 
remnants of the German Navy.
  The Joseph C. Lincoln and its crew endured a journey marked by great 
danger and terrible weather. The weather was so bad, in fact, that the 
Joseph C. Lincoln was forced to put into port in Glascow, Scotland for 
repairs. The ship finally arrived in Murmansk only to discover that 
there were no cranes large enough to unload the ship's cargo, which 
included six locomotives and tenders. Out of necessity, the ship 
continued south to the White Sea ports of Molotosk and Baebariska where 
its cargo finally was unloaded.
  The voyage of the Joseph C. Lincoln was repeated hundreds of times 
during World War II, and those voyages were largely responsible for the 
survival of the Russian people, and the death of nazism, in that war. 
Without the brave men of the American merchant marine, it is unlikely 
the Russian people would have survived, or that freedom would have 
triumphed.
  Mr. Speaker, 733 U.S. merchant ships were lost during World War II. 
Although 6,795 American merchant seamen were officially listed as 
having been lost at sea, many more died later from wounds or injuries--
or died in Allied or foreign hospitals--and so were not included in the 
Government's totals.
  World War II-era merchant mariners note, with well-deserved pride, 
that 62 percent of all merchant seamen received combat medals--and that 
the next-highest branch of the service was the Marine Corps, 24 percent 
of whose members received combat medals.
  Mr. Speaker, the Government of the United States has for too long 
refused to recognize the invaluable contribution that America's 
merchant seamen like Alfred Beauchamp made to our victory in World War 
II. We have gone so far as to deny some of them veterans status--
despite their heroism and their sacrifice. I thank God the Russian 
people recognize the contribution America's merchant seamen made during 
World War II, and I pray to God that some time in the future, we follow 
their lead.
  Thank you Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Alfred Beauchamp.

                          ____________________