[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E94-E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MERCHANT MARINERS OF WORLD WAR II CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of Congress, I 
rise in support

[[Page E95]]

of H.R. 5671, the ``Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional 
Gold Medal Act of 2020'', a bill that recognizes World War II merchant 
mariner veterans with congressional gold medals for their service to 
the United States.
  I am a strong proponent of our veteran population having the 
recognition they deserve for their bravery, honor, valor and sacrifice.
  Throughout World War II, our armed forces relied on the Merchant 
Marine to provide combat equipment, fuel, food, commodities and raw 
materials to troops stationed abroad in both theaters of operation, and 
they paid a heavy price in service to their country.
  The Merchant Marine is a war essential supply chain that transports 
the nation's cargoes in times of peace and prosperity, and in times of 
war and grave danger.
  Military missions and war planning are contingent upon the 
availability of resources and the Merchant Marine played a vital role 
in this regard.
  The Merchant Marine provided for the successful transport of 
resources and personnel despite consistent and ongoing exposure to 
enemy combatants from both the air and the sea, including from enemy 
bomber squadrons, submarines, and naval mines.
  The Merchant Marines were the best informed and most widely traveled, 
constantly supplying the front-line troops until they could break 
through German, Japanese and Italian aggression to secure victory.
  The Merchant Marine suffered the highest per capita casualty rate in 
the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.
  An estimated 8,300 mariners lost their lives, and another 12,000 were 
wounded during WWII.
  The Merchant Marine proved to be an instrumental asset on an untold 
number of occasions, participating in every landing operation by the 
United States Marine Corps, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa.
  Merchant Marines were engaged in the longest battle of the war--the 
Battle of the Atlantic, fought over the vital supply lines to Europe--
and they fought longer than any other branch of the service.
  These mariners have waited over 70 years to get the recognition they 
earned braving the perils of the Atlantic during the Second World War.
  There are 1.5 million veterans living in Texas and each of them 
deserve recognition for their service and sacrifice for this nation.
  Approximately 16 million Americans served in World War II and have 
come to receive veteran status after the somber duration, but 
victorious conclusion of the war.
  More than a quarter million, 250,000 thousand civilian sailors, 
served in the U.S. Merchant Marine by the end of the war.
  Despite their honorable, vital and heroic service in wartime, the men 
of the U.S. merchant marine were not officially accorded veteran status 
until 1988, decades following the end of World War II.
  The feats and accomplishments of the Merchant Marine are deserving of 
broader public recognition.
  Unfortunately, the courageous contribution of the Merchant Mariners 
sacrifices are commonly overlooked.
  Every American owes these mariners a debt of gratitude we cannot 
begin to repay.
  The Congressional Gold Medal would be an appropriate way to shed 
further light on the service of the merchant mariners in World War II 
and the instrumental role they played in winning that war.
  I ask my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to vote in support 
of H.R. 5671.

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