[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1777-E1778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BELATED THANK YOU TO THE MERCHANT MARINERS OF WORLD WAR II ACT OF 2007

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                               speech of

                           HON. HEATH SHULER

                           of North Carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 30, 2007

  Mr. SHULER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Merchant 
Mariners who served in our Nation during World War II and were an 
integral part of our victory. They suffered the highest casualty rate 
of any of the branches of the service while delivering troops, tanks, 
food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the 
war. Without the services of the Merchant Mariners, victory would have 
been more difficult, and certainly more lives would have been lost.
  Unfortunately, they were denied any rights under the GI Bill of 
Rights. The Merchant Mariners became the forgotten service. It

[[Page E1778]]

wasn't until 1988 that they were given any benefits, and even then they 
did not qualify for some portions of the GI Bill.
  I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the 
Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007, under which certain 
honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine would receive 
a monthly benefit of $1,000. This benefit to the veterans (or their 
survivors) would be an important step in recognizing their crucial 
contribution to the protection and preservation of the freedom of the 
United States of America.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the Merchant Mariners 
who deserve recognition and benefits for their service to the United 
States of America during World War II.

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