Carol Shea-Porter: “I, too, rise in support of recognizing what our maritime men did for us during World War II. The danger that they lived…”

“I, too, rise in support of recognizing what our maritime men did for us during World War II. The danger that they lived through, the sinking of their ships, the efforts to protect our other soldiers and bring supplies to them was nothing short of heroic. When I spoke to some of these brave men, I talked about how my father had joined the Navy, and one of the reasons he liked to say was because he always was fed, and he always had ice cream. I never really thought about where all that came from. And then I met a constituent of mine in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, who wrote a letter to me speaking about his father who was a merchant marine and what he had been deprived of after World War II. And here is what Larry Warren had to say. 'I am writing on behalf of all World War II Merchant Marine veterans, but one in particular, my father Fred Warren of Wolfeboro. They need help.' 'My father served with the Merchant Marines during World War II. His hearing is damaged from working in the engine rooms, and his lungs are damaged from the asbestos used in the construction of the merchant ships. He survived typhoons in the Pacific, German U-boats in the Atlantic, and Axis torpedo bombers in the Mediterranean. I don't know all the harrowing experiences. He doesn't talk about it. 'He was lucky to have made it home. Many didn't.”