When U.S. House Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i, 2nd District) comes to Kaua‘i this Saturday, Feb. 21, for town meetings, he is likely to besieged by residents seeking solutions to the island’s drug problem and improvements to public schools in Hawai‘i.
When U.S. House Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawai‘i, 2nd District) comes to Kaua‘i this Saturday, Feb. 21, for town meetings, he is likely to besieged by residents seeking solutions to the island’s drug problem and improvements to public schools in Hawai‘i.
Some residents may want Case to rehash his congressional trip to Iraq, where he visited Hawai‘i troops.
Koloa resident Ed Case won’t be one of them, but instead will focus on a matter close his heart: Getting Case to back federal legislation proposing World War II-era Merchant Marines in Hawai‘i and across the nation be eligible for $1,000 a month in post-war benefits.
House of Representatives bill 3729 also proposes the surviving spouse of eligible recipients receive that amount, or their surviving children receive the funds should there be no surviving spouse.
About a dozen or so merchant marines lived on Kauai in December 2003. The most prominent island mariners are Billy Fernandes, a state legislator, and Paul Lemke, a Kapa‘a rancher.
The benefits, if adopted by Congress, would be provided through the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of the World War II Act of 2004.” The bill was introduced by California congressman Bill Filner.
Having the legislation passed is imperative because most of the mariners are now between 75 to 85 years of age, according to a spokesman for the “Just Compensation Committee,” a U.S. . Merchant Marine branch in Palmetto, Fl.
The bill proposes:
- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs pay benefits to the surviving spouse as long as he or she was married to an eligible mariner for no less than a year;
- The federal agency will pay a monthly benefit of $1,000, to be equally divided among the surviving children, should there be no surviving spouse.
- An eligible mariner should have received an honorable service certificate;
- An eligible mariner should have been a member of the United States merchant marines, including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service.
- The mariner should have served on a vessel that was operated by the War Shipping Administration o the Office of Defense Transportation.
No U.S. Merchant Mariners’ branch exist in Hawai‘i, but isle-based mariners are just as deserving of the benefits as they died or took risks in the service of their country during World War II.
Although escorted by military convoys, merchant ships were sunk. Enemy forces sunk more than 800 ships between 1941 and 1944, resulting in the death of one in six mariner aboard merchant vessels, according to a Web site.
During World War II, more than 9,200 mariner died or were missing. The leaders of the U.S. Merchant Marines, said the casualties don’t take into account the number of merchant marines who died after the war because of injuries or exposure during their time aboard merchant vessels.
During World War II, the merchant marines served as a crucial link between the producers of military supplies and American military forces sent to far-flung corners of the world.
To meet the demands of the U.S. military, the number of mariners increased dramatically from 55,000 to more than 215,000 through the U.S. Maritime Service training.
Foe more information on the federal legislation, please contact Herb Case at 742-1817.
