Author of the GREATEST GENERATION Proves Ignorant Of The WWII Contributions of the Merchant Marine

TV JOURNALIST TOM BROKAW APPEARS TO BE UNAWARE OF THE ROLE OF THE U.S.MERCHANT MARINE and U.S. MARITIME SERVICE IN WWII

Editor's Note: We apologize for the poor formatting.

Our "dashboard" can not be repaired except by the 

service provider. To get this out at all required 8

hours of forced formatting. 

Photo: Public Domain

 In mid July TV journalist Tom Brokaw,

a presumed journalistic "expert" in World

War II history, while presenting a program 

on the war era completely omitted any

mention of the contributions of the American

Merchant Marine to the war effort. 

  The result of our complete and  abject lack of a 

coherent national maritime policy is our 

shrinking international,Merchant fleet, a 

domestic offshore oil industry being rapidly 

dominated by foreign flag drilling vessel owners,

and a domestic (shipping between and among U.S.

 ports)Merchant Marine under constant legislative 

attack against its legal protections by people who 

should know better, foremost among them Senator John 

McCain  of Arizona.  

Photo from Library of Congress

Brokaw, like most Americans seemed blissfully unaware 

that  by law the U.S. Merchant Marine is a "naval 

auxiliary" and when in times of national emergency 

"naval control" of shipping is declared can be 

brought directly under the control of the Chief of 

naval operations. When that happens the already 

para-naval conditions of employment can shift quickly to

 virtual  naval discipline as was the case with the enrolled members of the U.S. Maritime Service. The 

employment conditions of U.S. Maritime Service(formed to

 rapidly expand the available manpower to man the 

rapidly building Merchant Marine military transport 

fleet)and the U.S.Merchant Marine involved combat 

exposure from the moment the U.S. port of embarkation sea 

buoy was passed.   

Photos:Public Domain

Brokaw was taken to task by International Masters, 

Mates, and Pilots Association (MM&P) member Joseph H. 

Foreman in the pages of the "Macon County News" as 

recently reported in the pages of the "Wheel House" 

magazine of the MM&P for failing to note the 

following in his assessment of the contributions by 

the various services in WWII:

"One in every 26 merchant seamen was lost in World War II,”

 Foreman wrote. “Many in the Veterans of Foreign Wars 

may have been overseas but not in harm’s way,but a 

U.S. Merchant Seaman was in harm’s way as soon as his   

 ship left port. Also, if his ship got sunk, his pay 

stopped. A prisoner of war, no pay, on the 
beach awaiting another ship, no pay, also not allowed in U.S.O. club.”" 

As noted in the MM&P's WHEELHOUSE :

"Foreman, himself a World War II veteran, reminded 

Brokaw that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 

called the American Merchant Marine our 

nation’s fourth arm of defense. “Learn some 

history if you are as smart as they all say you are,”

 he told the journalist."

Photo: Public Domain

World War II wasn't the only conflict that the U.S. 

Merchant Marine served in.

 Photos: Public Domain
 We previously 

published a pictorial essay on U.S.Merchant Marine

 combat history in which we stated:

"This was just a short reminder that your U.S. Merchant Marine is by law a naval auxiliary and carries the beans and the bullets to U.S. troops in war zones where others won't go, transports military cargoes to tidewater down the great rivers of this nation. Stands ready day and night to fight marine fires, tow dangerous objects out of harms way or steam into apparent danger to get you off of Manhattan when terrorist strike. Senator John McCain has called us "laughable" and wants to repeal the Jones Act, the only legislation that keeps the U.S. Merchant Marine in its daily bread and butter business between wars and emergencies. Our sacred dead are not laughing, we as working seamen are not laughing. No, each day we are towing the heating oil and gasoline for the Midwest north in tank barges from Gulf Coast refineries. We are servicing the offshore oil rigs and occasionally extinguishing the fires and cleaning up their pollution. We are bringing back U.S. military equipment from Afghanistan, and providing tug service to all those foreign flag freighters and tankers in our ports who have largely displaced us in carrying America's non domestic trade. Now John McCain would like for Chinese and Mexican mariners to take over our peace time jobs. But will they serve you the American people when the chips are down, we don't think so. John McCain is to us what  Jane Fonda is to him. And for the record we don't like her either."

 Photo USCG
   Photos:Public Domain