The Forgotten Heroes: The Heroic Story of the United States Merchant Marine

by Brian Herbert

Book Overview

The United States Merchant Marine has a tradition - from the Revolutionary War to the present-day Gulf conflicts - of being in the forefront of every American military action. They have served with distinction in every case. Brian Herbert has chronicled the amazing exploits of these gallant seamen, assembling a fascinating array of data to describe the world of the Merchant Marine in peace and especially in war.Drawing from historical documents, government...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765307065
• ISBN13: 9780765307064
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

UNREWARDED LOYALTY

In the Introduction, the author, Brian Herbert, writes "Under precarious conditions these merchant seamen performed extraordinary acts of bravery, they were the lifeline of the Allied forces, making victory not only possible, but inevitable." In a strict sense they were not members of the armed forces. However, in World War II, the Merchant Marine suffered 8,380 battle deaths or 3.899 % per-capita; that was greater than the Marine Corps that suffered 2.949% battle deaths per-capita. A brief account of the buildup of the American Merchant Marine is given. Starting in 1936 with a vigorous ship building program, of which the liberty ship designed for rapid construction, was a key design. The U.S. Merchant Marine grew rapidly. In 1942 the U.S. Navy attempted to take control of the Merchant Marine, which the ship owners and maritime unions successfully defeated only to pay a high post war price for winning. A somewhat disjointed text narrates the World War II perils and accomplishments of the U.S. Merchant Marine which suffered horrendous losses of men and materials. Several examples of wartime merchant marine engagements are given; many will be familiar to readers of WW-II maritime history. Merchant Marine officer, Dean Beaumont, purser on the liberty ship SS Brander Matthews is one of the WW-II narrative vehicles as the text follows his ship in the Pacific until Dean suffered a nervous break-down and was returned home. Upon returning home, Dean Beaumont found that he, along with all merchant seamen, was not eligible for any medical benefits nor for the educational and/or financial benefits of the GI Bill. Had they been under the control of the U.S. Navy as proposed in 1942, they would have been eligible. Regardless of their heavy losses and merchant marine participation in all the major invasions including Normandy, the merchant marines in the post war period were treated as noncombatants, not allowed to participate in parades with armed force members, provided no benefits and were often treated as second-class citizens. Consequently, some ex-merchant seamen became homeless and many could not participate in the postwar prosperity. This book is a plea for justice for these men who gave the county their full loyalty, often giving their life. The text also includes a brief outline of the Merchant Marine history dating back to the Revolutionary War when the Merchant Marine was also the Navy in the form of privateers. If the reader has access to the DVDs now available of the 1952 TV series titled "Victory at Sea", they will find that viewing the episodes "Sealing the Breach" and "Guadalcanal" while reading the book will make the text more meaningful. Regardless of its somewhat jumbled text, this book is worth reading.

Taking a Ride in a Kaiser Coffin

How did all of those troops get to Normandy on D-Day? Who brought all of their supplies over for that momentous day? Some of the soldiers and their supplies were brought over by military transports, but much, much more made its way across the Atlantic in Liberty Ships: merchant vessels that navigated the treacherous wartime waters in ships that would later be called "Kaiser Coffins" (because of how often they were sunk by enemy attacks...and how easy they WERE to sink.) And who were the men that grabbed the helms of these tin-cans, risking life and limb time and again? They were (are) known as The Merchant Marines. Never officially inducted into the military, many men in The Merchant Marine failed the basic physical exams given by the Armed Services. Their only hope to help fight and win the war was The Merchant Marines. And they streamed in by the thousands, volunteering to help bring needed supplies over to Europe, Australia, the Pacific Theater, and places beyond. It wasn't just WW II in which we find the heroic deeds of The Merchant Mariner either. Oh no. When George Washington and his army were fighting the Brits, who helped transport his legions of men? Yep. The Merchant Marine. From the U.S.'s founding fathers, to the Persian Gulf War, The Merchant Marine has been there, hauling our sons, daughters, and their needed supplies across deadly seas. And they've died in numbers larger than any of those in the Armed Services. So one would think that The Merchant Marine deserved a little recognition, maybe a GI Bill style package to help out those returning from wartime service, right? Especially if they were wounded during the course of the war, right? Wrong. Since The Merchant Mariner is not an "official" member of the Armed Forces, they get none of that. No GI Bill. No war memorial. No medical benefits coming anywhere near those given to veterans. Where did America go wrong? Why were these men (and women) swept under the rug of our society? The answers are in this book, The Forgotten Heroes by Brian Herbert. ****************************************************************************** The book basically follows the history of Dean Beaumont, the son of Arthur Beaumont, the unofficial "Artist Laureate" of the U.S. Navy (many of Arthur Beaumont's paintings are hung in places such as The White House, the first nuclear submarine, and in private collections...often valued at over $100,000.) Dean is an asthmatic and he fails the Armed Forces medical exam, but he doesn't give up. He joins The Merchant Marines and travels the war-torn seas during WW II. And when he returns to the States, wounded and much more savvy in the ways of the world, he finds that The Merchant Marine is a disgrace. They don't qualify for anything, nothing at all. Although Mr. Herbert tells a story that needed to be told, his methods became a bit preachy and repetitive at times but, even so, that still didn't detract from the overall history lesson the author gives us

Where would America be without her displaced heroes?

"Abe Lincoln failed in business 1831 and again in 1833. In the meantime, he ran for state legislator and lost. His sweetheart died in 1835, and he had a nervous breakdown the next year. He lost the nomination to Congress in 1843, was defeated again for Congress in 1848 and 1855 and lost the vice presidency of the United States in 1856. Then he ran for Senator in 1858 and lost. In 1860 Abe Lincoln was elected president of the United States. The rest is history." (Mtn. Wings, 10-26-2004) This is a most interesting and researched history of a group of unsung United States' heroes. Called the 'forgotten heroes' because the government refused benefits, recognition, parades, medical and educational aid, simply because they were civilian seamen. Though they have been around since Revolutionary War days (they actually formed the first Navy of U.S. in colonial times when more seamen died during that war than did the soldiers of George Washington's Continental Army.), they received no compensation and had duties which put them in peril. During WWII, their casualties were so high it was kept a secret. And yet, the members of the U.S. Merchant Marines, civilian 'fighters', they were called, were vital to the Allies' victory. Using diaries, interviews with surviving 'veterans.' government records, and historical documents, they are shown to have performed innumerable 'feats of extraordinary bravery' as they delivered food, fuel, even the troops which were deployed -- every essential needed in wartime to assist in our victory. Many perished at Pearl Harbor where their transport ship was the first to be torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. They even performed rescues of British Royal Air force fliers from life rafts in the Mediterranean during WWII. The SS Martin Van Buren ship was torpedoed off the coast of Nova Scotia. There is an account of Merchant Marines actually freezing to death. They fought along with military servicemen over a period of more than 200 years. Their motto has always been "Deeds, Not Words." The were called the lifeline of the Allied Forces and were sent into war zones to transport troops, bombs, tanks, planes and their fuel, torpedoes, munitions, and other dangerous war material. The photo section displays these activities. In 1936, the government declared the Merchant Marine ships as auxiliary military vessels. They suffered more deaths per capita in WWII than any of the American armed forces. Because of their cargo of delivering war supplies to our overseas troops and transporting the soldiers into battle zones, the Merchant Marine ships were targets of German U-boats and Japanese kamikaze planes. Their petroleum tankers were blown up, and the merchant ships carrying ammunition which were torpedoed had explosions so immense that no traces of the vessels or their crews were ever found. In 1984, Michael Pare starred in THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT which depicted this very thing. In it, he looked like my high school

Those who sailed with the forgotten heroes.

As I read the book I am disappointed with the minimal mention of the men of the USN who, after a delay in the early months of 1942,sailed on the merchant ships as Navy gunners and communications personnel as members of the USN Armed Guard. On most Liberty ships there were about 28 members of the USN. I served on four Liberty ships and had a very high admiration for the MM as shipmates in periods of tedium as well as in enemy action. The inability of the civilian sailors to get the post-war benefits enjoyed by their Navy crew members was unfortunate but they did not sail alone. The book is enjoyable.