MERCHANT MARINE HISTORY

THE JONES ACT FLEET'S FINEST HOUR

An Evacuation Bigger Than Dunkirk

 Image USCG

  In our "Merchant Marine Interest" section one of the books that we recommend for every American to read is titled "THE WAY OF THE SHIP". We highly recommend this book because it is the first real attempt by maritime historians to effectively describe the importance and national security contributions of our domestic fleets that carry people, and goods and perform services on our inland and coastal waters. We have taken pains to explain the vital role that these commercial work vessels and their crews have played as a reserve for our traditional deep sea Merchant Marine which is often weakened in times of peace. We have lamented the number of times the Congress has failed to act to protect this domestic fleet from foreign competition. We have often used examples from World War II and Vietnam to illustrate our high regard for the vessels and crews of these domestic fleets. We had every intention to tell you as soon as we could about the latest example of how much this fleet and its crews can contribute to national security in the form of their activities in the evacuation of Lower Manhattan in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. A maritime evacuation, bigger than Dunkirk. But we really can't tell the story better than the professional cinematographers and narrator Tom Hanks in the video that we have hyper-linked to below.  

http://www.youtube.com/embed/MDOrzF7B2Kg?rel=0