All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio.
This is Veterans Radio.
Welcome to Veterans Radio.
I am Jim Fossone.
I'm the officer of the deck today.
We've got some great programs for you.
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We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today Captain Drew DiMaria.
Drew, welcome to Veterans Radio.
Great to be here, Jim.
Thanks for having us.
It's such a unique opportunity as you stumbled across one of our magazines down in Southwest
Florida.
So kudos to you.
And again, thanks for the opportunity.
But we're glad, I don't think in the 21 years we've been doing this, we've ever talked to
somebody with your organization or title.
You are the national president of the American Merchant Marine Veterans Association.
Drew, how did a nice kid from Maine end up at the Maine Maritime Academy?
Well, that's a good question.
I stumbled across that particular industry crossing the Bay Bridge back and forth, living
and being born and raised in Baltimore.
Now I used to look out over the Bay Bridge off of Annapolis where the United States
Naval Academy is, and there was always an anchorage of these balkers, colliers.
Colliers referring to carrying the commodity of coal.
There was some iron ore and of course other kinds of vessels that were in and out of Baltimore.
So I just amazed me looking at that particular horizon of vessels and then there I go.
So 10th grade in high school, I went to city schools in Baltimore, polytechnic in my 10th
grade mechanical drawing teacher.
So let's have a job fair day.
So we put down our slide rolls and our pencils and we started talking about different careers
uniquely to Baltimore.
Similarly, uniquely to Michigan when you look at the Great Lakes, we are a maritime nation.
And when you look at Baltimore, we had many industries of three shipyards in the steel
mill, the vessel and steel.
And the history there speaks for itself in regards to being the industrial base of building
vessels.
And that dates back to World War II.
So next thing I know, I'm interested in going to one of the schools and I got involved with
doing some research and it was recommended up to me.
So here I am off to me.
And we had a wonderful, I needed the discipline, young 18 year old, I didn't know what the
hell was going on.
So I needed that particular quasi military discipline and I even took a little extra
time doing it, but I stayed close to the curve of that and got through it.
And next thing I know, 30 years go by working from A.B.
Tankerman on tug and barges, working around the world on different class of vessels on
LNG carriers, that's the liquid natural gas carriers.
They were vessels built right in the United States, Quincy, Massachusetts back in the
70s.
I enjoyed that run for 12 years working from third officer up to chief officer and things
get reallocated.
Corporate world does what they need to do to look at the bottom line sometimes and things
changed.
And then of course, 9-11 changed the game for everyone.
And then you saw an onslaught of mariners, merchant mariners from all creeds all over
the world carrying military cargo for the necessary build up there in the Middle East.
And I find myself getting involved with that for 12 years just working my way up to captain.
So 30 years goes by pretty quick.
And in particular in regards to this organization you mentioned, American Merchantry Veterans,
in one of my poor's home, I'm having a couple of calls here.
I'm reading a local paper here in Southwest Florida, the town's called Cape Coral.
And there's an advertisement, come join our calls, American Merchantry Veterans.
I'm looking at this thing and I got to tell you, we all have a little brief history of
certain segments of our evolution of whether it's the wars, whether it's maritime, that's
my neck of the woods, traveling the world.
And I'm looking at this group, Merchantry Marine Veterans.
Well, it never dawned on me that there was an organization, nor that I ever see them
advertised.
So I call them up, I join, next thing you know I'm having lunches with these World War II
fellows that had sea stories that you can imagine.
And I just took a lord of that and I was like, wow, what a cool group.
So we've had these lunches once a month.
And to fast forward to now, Jim, we have one man standing and there were all women involved
in the regards to the Merchantry Marine back in World War II.
But we have one man standing left, he turns 99 soon.
And I just found a passion to join this group.
Now I'm the national president and we're continuing with the legacy and education of
this vital service.
Well, I think that's really why we've got you on, Drew, is I don't think the general
public understands the role that Merchant Mariners played not only in World War II, but
really in every conflict the United States has ever been in.
And as you mentioned, we're a maritime nation.
You have to be a sea power.
China is recognizing its need to be a sea power.
And there is talk about rebuilding the Navy, but you've got to have more shipyards, you've
got to have more mariners, you've got to have more chiefs, mates, the whole thing.
To get back to being a real maritime nation.
And I want, you mentioned, I mentioned you went to the Maine Maritime Academy.
There are a handful of these maritime academies.
There's one in the Great Lakes.
The United States has the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.
So there's a whole industry, a whole educational and process by which one moves on up to the
role that you have, which is a captain and a master mariner.
But talk to us about why it's important for the nation to have this civilian maritime
capability.
That's a great question and as a great lead in regards to how you highlighted some of
the academies.
And if you will, let me bring in Massachusetts Maritime, New York Maritime, also called
SUNY Maritime, go down the coast and come around to the Gulf of what we're going to
hear now, Gulf of America.
You got Texas Maritime and you got California Maritime.
So when you look at these schools and how these schools were even initiated as far as
training, it was exclusively for what FDR, so I can do a Roosevelt saw.
And during our industrial base, you're talking post Great Depression.
Now you're looking at here we are with the Lend-Lease Program, the importance, and I'm
bringing in a couple of other subject matters pertaining to like what occurred in World
War II, but the importance of the merchant marine.
And if you look at the flag gym, you'll see in peace and war.
In peace time, you need a vital, vibrant industry, which includes not only the assets
that have been built in our industrial base and our shipyards, but you need to have the
manning.
You need to have the training of the specific trades of the mariners.
And it doesn't just pertain to the academies, it pertains to the apprenticeship programs
and the trades programs and what they call coming up through the folks.
So when you say coming up through the folks, it'll come up through the horse pipe.
Let me just say that the horse pipe is the proper terminology.
So that means you come up from starting positions as an apprentice in whatever department, the
galley, the store department, the engine department, or the deck department.
And I'm being kind of versed in regards to your direct question of what's the importance
to it, but the training is an incredibly important component.
The demand of having a forward deployed, having the presence of trade commercially, right,
and more times than not, lately in my generation, we've carried what we call hybrid cargoes,
where we also carry a military cargo.
So with all the different kinds of traits and commodities and what we carry, the merchant
marine has always been an auxiliary to the US Navy.
So again, it's more the definition why the merchant marine is important.
You need to have a component of a supply chain, the vital supply chain of cargo to support
these conflicts and obviously the conflicts abroad or in a NATO kind of alliance or allied
forces that need these essential cargoes and not only do the military forces that are forward
deployed on the front lines, we're also bringing humanitarian aid for countries that we assisted
prior to World War II going in.
FDR didn't want the war.
Nobody really wants to go to war, but you got to keep things in check.
What we did back then was the Lend-Lease program.
Well we were given up ships.
We were given hauling the proper provisions and all the supplies necessary to get Russia
through its turmoil, to get Britain through its turmoil.
So you know, the merchant marine is absolutely critical.
It's a supply chain.
Yeah, you've really hit it there because I think since the pandemic, everybody has
learned the word supply chain and logistics and it really is, that's what this is about,
is being able to move massive amounts of material over the oceans to wherever our government
may need them.
And this is not a new thing.
I was sort of surprised when I saw the flag that represents the American merchant marine
veterans and we're talking to its national president, Captain Drew DiMaria, but I didn't
know what the 1775 was about on the flag.
You just told me, tell that story again.
It's interesting.
So the merchant marine has been around since the founding of our country.
So prior, so we're talking the exact date, 1775, June 12th.
Now I don't want to mess around with any of our US Army folks and we always keep in our
lane.
June 12th is two days before June 14th, the birth of the Army.
So June 12th indicative is General Washington understood that the armaments of the British
were coming in and it just so happened that he ordered Captain Jeremiah O'Brien to man
a sloop that was called the Unity up in Machiave Man.
And so they manned this with civilian mariners.
They were called privateers back in the day and they manned this vessel of the Unity and
one after the Marguerite, the British vessel Marguerite that was full of arms and whatnot.
And we succeeded.
We succeeded in that particular first onset of June 12th, 1775 of the merchant marine
taking a position in the maritime front, conveying power.
Now today, Jim, if you care to reflect on it, we're not an armed service, though in World
War II, they did arm the vessels to have a little bit of a defense mechanism with a
three inch or a five inch gun with a supplement of Navy armed guards on board.
And I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but you know, significance is that June 12th,
1775.
And here we go with the 250th anniversary of our United States merchant marine.
Yeah, it's really interesting that the history reaches back all the way to George Washington
and the recognized need to be able to move goods, supplies, armaments by sea.
And in World War II, it really came to pass the involvement of the U.S. merchant marine
fleet.
A lot of them were sunk, the Germany understood what was going on.
But it took a long time for Congress to sort of recognize that effort.
And I think it was only in 1988 that those who served in the merchant marines received
veteran status.
And that's a little bit of what the organization was about, the American merchant marine veterans
was working towards recognition, wasn't it?
That's exactly right, Jim.
You said that so well and leading into why the AMMV, American Merchant Marine Veterans
was founded.
So 43 years after the war, January of 1988, they finally received veteran status.
It took a long measure of the persuasion of the fact finding and all the statistics that
occurred.
But AMMV was founded by individuals, mariners, and their families that were so advocating
the cause of the merchant marine service.
And what they did to be part of the winning combination in World War II that played out
and they wanted to get the flag up.
They wanted to get recognition.
And with different economics of looking across the crew from captain to whitebird to ordinary,
whoever you are, everybody has different definitions of the successes.
But the one thing that remains solid to the AMMV cause, founded by the World War II back
in 1984, right here in Lee County, Florida, and then it went across and it sprawled all
across the country times 75 chapters over 5,000 members.
And their cause was valiant.
I mean, it was incredible with what they achieved.
It took a long time to do it, 43 years after the war and finally getting veteran status.
And we continued to ring the bell.
We continued to get recognition for these individuals.
And of course, as you see the legacy, most of these individuals are, some are nearing
100.
We have one up in Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin.
Reynolds Compton, he was 107.
107.
That's from straight good living.
I got a fellow here with K Cool, it's turned in 99 and he still drives.
He meets me for lunch.
We go to the pub, have a beer.
Well, there's the real reason.
Well, I want to do two things before we run out of time.
I want to tell everybody, if you're interested in this organization, if you've never heard
of it, you need a place to start looking around.
Go to ammv.us.
That's the website, ammv.us.
And I think one of the things I also want to try to get across here, Drew, maybe you
want to talk a little bit about it.
Being a mariner, as Ben, I'm sure for you after 30 years, a great career.
You've seen the world, you've done all sorts of things.
So for young men and women out there thinking, I got a little wanderlust, I want to do this.
This may be an option, but it also creates an opportunity to serve your country when
called upon.
As you said, you carried hybrid loads, but at other times, there'll be shipments that
are just pure humanitarian loads or pure military loads.
So talk a little bit about the career and the opportunity.
That's a great question, Jen.
So the opportunity in regards to coming aboard, and again, doesn't matter what your rank is.
You can be anybody in the crew, but you're serving the calls of that vessel, serving
the calls of, like you cited so well, serving the country.
Could be humanitarian aid, could be an auxiliary to the Navy.
And let's talk about the Brown Water Fleet.
So we're talking about the hinterland, whether it be the Great Lakes, all our coastal communities.
These were documented credentialed crew members that have gone through the disciplines of
learning the trade of navigation, seamanship, engineering, hotel services working in the
gallery, in the galley.
So the younger folks looking at a trade or looking at a position of not only, you know,
it's a good-paying position, normally all the rates across the board for all crew members,
it is an attractive way to make a living.
We do give up time at home, whether it's two weeks on, two weeks off.
The tradeoff in regards to a heartfelt feeling of being amongst your crew, it's a second
family, right?
But again, you can define it as you stated so well, Jen.
You are serving your country.
And when you're looking at domestically, the trades around our coastlines, you are protecting
homeland security.
It is a front to national security to have credentialed US citizens working on our US
flag vessels.
There's all kinds of other things to talk about.
We'll say that for a later show.
But this is a blanket of security here.
And then when you start going on foreign trade with long trips to different places around
the world, a lot of times it is that hybrid cargo or it is that humanitarian need.
So there's a multiple lore that got me attracted to it.
We are trying like hell to become mentors and have an attraction to see cadets, Rossi
programs across the board and the high school level and teach counselors, school counselors,
college counselors that provide all your different kinds of programs for graduate studies or
undergraduate studies need to know that there's a big demand.
And it's a great career path.
And again, like you stated, it's serving your country.
We have a couple of proposals going on before us in Congress.
There's a new act with Senator Kelly and Congressman Garrett Mende and two others that got what
they call the Ships for America Act.
It's a pending piece of legislation, but it's very comprehensive and it talks about workforce
development.
Under that is what we're talking about, Jim.
I'm a mentor to the younger generations and understanding from the high school level,
whether you're interested in the academies or whether you're interested in entering at
the apprenticeship level.
It's quite a program and I had a great career.
I really enjoyed, like I said, the second family and of course your serving the country.
Well, and I think it's hard to attract younger folks into this career unless they've been
exposed to it, right?
So that's what we're doing a little bit here.
And you could go to ammv.us, go down and check them out a little bit.
They've got a great set of magazines that pop up regularly.
So there's a lot of information if you're sort of thinking, maybe this is a career for
me and I like the idea that maybe at some point I can serve the country more.
We are probably moving into a phase and whether that's the next 50 years or something where
the country is getting back to the importance of the maritime environment.
More talk about domestic shipbuilding and everything that kind of goes with that.
I don't know how many US flag vessels there are currently and why that's a challenge.
But I kind of think we're the pendulum swinging back and you're going to have more activity
in this area and more opportunities.
Are there other organizations you might point younger people to if they were interested
in exploring the career?
Absolutely.
And I know in your NACADA Woods, it speaks highly for what the Great Lakes represents
for the merchant marine.
It's a huge industrial base and a huge opportunity for getting aboard vessels.
And no matter what position you care to sail in, what entry level you wish to be.
And of course, I need to mention the Great Lakes Maritime Academy as you did so well
before.
We have a great relationship with that academy.
Superintendent Gerard Akenbach, he's an incredible supporter of ours.
Let's go across to the spectrum of the entry level with the Seafarers International down
at Priny Point, Maryland.
Seafarers International, they have the incredible education program for your entry levels of
all departments, engine, deck, store department.
Again, I mentioned the store department, so that's where you're working, your hotel
services and the culinary, the culinary, the trade inside the galley cooking.
But huge part, huge part, my dad was a cook in the Navy.
He instilled in me the importance of the good meal, the social hour that you have.
Jim, let me mention that real quick.
Nobody on board is a passenger.
That's right.
Everybody's doing some work.
Everybody's doing something right now.
A lot of times you come home, they come off the ship, you've done four months at a time,
three months, whatever it is.
Oh, how's the cruise?
Oh, yeah, it's a cruise all right.
When is happy hour anyway?
I want to point out something too that we've been able to talk to a lot of organizations
over the years that have received the Congressional Gold Medal.
And in 2020, Congress passed the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold
Medal Act to recognize the Merchant Mariners for their courage and contributions during
the war.
And every time we get to talk to an organization that has participated in this, the importance
of that recognition is not so much for the individuals, because as you mentioned, they're
kind of all dying out.
It's really their family in the community.
It's a recognition to the larger community of Mariners that the country recognizes this
value.
It really is something that when Congress can kind of coalesce around it and say, you
know what, these guys are in gales, but these guys ought to be recognized.
I suspect that's an important, you know, thumbtack in the wall for your organization that Congress
gave them the gold medal.
Jim, spoken so well again, and you highlight such a crucial plateau of an event that we
partake in.
We were a part of the design team with the U.S. Mint.
We had World War II engaging with the design of the gold medal.
And you're right.
So it's indicative of the individual with the service record in getting a three-inch
to the living World War II or an inch and a half to a posthumous award.
You're absolutely so right to write that it's an award to the family.
It's an award to the recognition.
And just as I made them, over 9,000 Mariners were killed and 12,000 were wounded during
the war.
And we're talking thousands that remain in the watery grates.
Many don't have any marker whatsoever.
And there is her right in regards to the death of this recognition.
And we're not done yet.
When I say we're not done yet, the Maritime Administration is helping us out.
And we're continuing to, again, to hold the bell and carry the torch in regards to these
individuals.
It's absolutely crucial.
Let me mention something about the gold medal and so much as you look at the depth of those
wounded and it highlights in that piece of legislation that was passed is a medal citation
given to Mariners that were wounded, killed, or impacted by the war.
Well, guess what we have that everybody knows, Jim, is the Purple Heart.
Everybody knows what the Purple Heart looks like, knows why somebody receives it, and
we honor and cherish those who have signed that blank check and they're the armed services.
The Merchant Marine is that gray area of not understanding that back in the World War II,
they had a medal called the Mariners Medal.
And that was indicative very similarly like the Purple Heart.
And yet it's not spoken of or not understood.
There are so many families that have questions in regards to, you know, grandfather or grandfather,
you know, somebody that's out there in the watery grave.
And it'll be an endless amount of recognition.
Just so you know, when you highlight our website, we're working on a convention in Norfolk
first week of April.
We have the Memorial Day Reflang at the Tomb of the Unknown.
And then we're out on the West Coast outside the Golden Gate in the Presidio where the
American Dotto Monuments Commission is installing a marker to represent and cherish the ones
that never made at home from the Pacific Theater.
So we're doing what we can to beat the drum and talk about this legacy, but I really
appreciate you bringing up the Gold Medal and that's recognitions that will continue
on.
Well, I want to close out by pointing out to folks that there were nearly 250,000 civilian
merchant mariners that took part in World War II.
As Captain Drew Damadia mentioned, over 9,500 lost their lives.
And according to the National World War II Museum, that's a higher proportion than those
killed in any military branch.
So it was a dangerous job.
That's why we're talking, this is history that people have forgotten.
We wanted to bring it forward to our veteran radio listeners.
But it also ripples forward, we can see where this is going into the future.
And that's why we also wanted to talk to Captain Drew Damadia, National President of
the American Merchant Mariners Veterans Organization.
Drew, we really do appreciate you taking a little time with us today.
Oh, Jim, I can't thank you enough.
God bless your organization and the fact that you come across our magazine and next thing
you know, we're talking, it's a worthy cause, you have a worthy cause on veterans radio.
Keep it up.
And I hope to maybe we revisit and talk about another aspect of the Merchant Marine.
It's a great career path.
You got it, Drew.
Thank you.
And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today.
I am Jim Fossone.
It's been a pleasure to be your host.
I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans.
And you can reach us at 800-693-4800 or LegalHelpForVeterans.com on the web.
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