DADDY AND THE MERCHANT MARINE

     There have been so many beautiful tributes to the military throughout this Memorial Day holiday. Consider this one more tribute to the men who put their lives on the line for their country – and to my father, George Walter Scott.

     In World War II it took 7 to 15 tons of supplies to support one soldier for one year. This included food and medicine, guns and ammunition, trucks, tanks and fuel – everything necessary for the war effort.   Where did all those supplies come from and how did they get from the supplier to the soldier?

     In the early days of the War, Great Britain was losing cargo ships to German torpedoes faster than they could be produced. An appeal to America resulted in a huge shipbuilding program which built 2,711 “Liberty” ships for the war effort. These ships were built and owned by private companies and contracted to the government to carry supplies to the U.S. military all over the world. The ships’ civilian crews were attached to the military and trained by the government to operate the ships and assist Navy personnel in defending ships and cargoes while transporting supplies and troops wherever needed.

     My father was still a Canadian citizen, although he had been living in the United States for five years, when he received notice of his impending induction into the army. Whether he hoped to avoid being put in a position of having to kill, or because of a natural distaste for blindly following orders in the army, I don’t know; but for whatever reason, Daddy got his status changed and then enlisted in the Merchant Marine. There was an immediate opening for ship’s carpenter and Daddy assured them he was well qualified for the position. Then he went out and bought a book on carpentry.

     Mama wrote briefly of his first voyage in Daddy’s photo album:

In January of 1944 George sailed aboard the Liberty ship “Francisco M. Quinones” with a cargo of war equipment bound for Australia. Ran into a storm and had to put back to port for repairs. Sailed again Feb 2^nd. Reached Brisbane first week in March. Spent the summer hauling men, supplies and equipment from Australia to New Guinea and up and down the New Guinea Coast. Returned to San Francisco in Sept.

     New Guinea, just north of Australia, was a valuable base for the Japanese in the Pacific war. In September of 1943, the Allies launched a major invasion against the Japanese in New Guinea. This offensive continued through the following two years until the end of the war. It was in support of this movement that the “Francisco M. Quinones” was being used that summer of 1944.

      Although the Japanese navy never specifically targeted shipping in the Pacific, Merchant Marine convoys were used in every invasion and so were targets for Kamikazes, torpedoes, bombers and artillery. Merchant Marine fatalities during World War II were at a higher percentage than any other branch of the military -- one in twenty-six mariners died in the line of duty. In spite of all they did for the war effort, merchant seamen were not considered “veterans” until a federal law gave them that status in 1988.

     Daddy’s first adventure at sea ended with his discharge 2 September 1944 in San Francisco. He kept a few mementoes, two or three postcards of natives in New Guinea, and a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog as his ship sailed into San Francisco harbor.

     I found the Merchant Marine Hymn on the internet. Wonder if Daddy sang it with his shipmates?

Merchant Marine hymn, 

Heave Ho! My Lads! Heave Ho!

VERSE
Give us the oil, give us the gas
Give us the shells, give us the guns.
We’ll be the ones to see them thru.
Give us the tanks, give us the planes.
Give us the parts, give us a ship.
Give us a hip hoo-ray!
And we’ll be on our way.

CHORUS

Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho!
It’s a long, long way to go.
It’s a long, long pull with our hatches full,
Braving the wind, braving the sea,
Fighting the treacherous foe;
Heave Ho! My lads, Heave Ho!
Let the sea roll high or low,
We can cross any ocean, sail any river.
Give us the goods and we’ll deliver,
Damn the submarine!
We’re the men of the Merchant Marine!

(Information about the Merchant Marine came from the website “American Merchant Marine at War” http://www.usmm.org/index.html#anchor252856 )