Anyone who ever watched a World War II movie that featured convoys of cargo ships being stalked by enemy submarines or suicide aircraft had to become an admirer of Merchant Mariners. They were the ones who manned the Liberty Ships that transported troops, ammunition, food, gas and other supplies that were necessary to win the war. These slow moving freighters were often the target of enemy forces as they moved through open waters.

More than 800 Liberty Ships were sunk and more than 9,000 Merchant Mariners were lost at sea. The casualty rate amounted to one out of every 26—the highest casualty rate of any branch of the service. Casualties were kept secret during the War to keep the enemy from learning information about the success of their attacks, and to attract and keep mariners at sea.

The Merchant Mariners of World War II were brave people who carried out their missions with great valor and served their country honorably. Yet they have been denied fair treatment all these years because they were civilians and not officially classified as a fighting force.

For more than 40 years the Merchant Mariners were denied any G.I. Bill of Rights benefits ranging from housing to health care because of their status as civilians. In 1988, Congress awarded them veterans status which included a watered down version of the G.I. Bill, but it still lacked many benefits including loans and educational benefits, and it came too late for the 125,000 who had already passed away.

It was a bittersweet victory for former mariners who were too old to make use of benefits such as money for college, low cost home loans, and job preference.

Recognizing their essential role in winning the war is long overdue. I have introduced a bill, S. 961, which is entitled, “the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007”. It would pay $1,000 per month, tax free, to the merchant mariners who served between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946 and were discharged honorably, or their widows.

This monthly benefit will serve as compensation to the approximately 9,500 Merchant Mariners and their widows who are still living. Their average age today is 83.

In developing this legislation I have worked with a Nebraskan who spent two years of his life in the Merchant Marine working in the engine room of a troop ship during World War II. Mr. Bert Young, who lives in the Lincoln area, can attest to the dangers he and his comrades faced on a daily basis. It is for him and the thousands of other unsung heroes of World War II that I want to get this bill enacted into law to finally honor the contribution of those who risked, and in many cases gave, their lives to provide a lifeline to our fighting forces.