The Merchant Marine

Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid’st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked’st on the foaming deep,
and calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe’er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Sorry to say, it’s the US Navy Hymn and a Church of England hymn, at that.

Thanks.

My mother’s first husband, Claude Blanchette, was lost with the SS Muskogee in 1942. His image, with three others, forms part of the Merchant Marine memorial in Battery Park in New York.

LEST WE FORGET

Sometimes when the bands are playing
And the uniforms march by
You will find a seaman watching
With a wistful-looking eye

And you know just what he’s thinking
As he hears the cheering crowd
As the soldiers and the sailors
Swing along, erect and proud

He is thinking that his country
Shows its honor once again
For those in uniform while forgetting
All the seas’ forgotten men

He is thinking of the armies
And the food and fighting tanks
That for every safe arrival
To the seaman owe their thanks

He is thinking of his buddies
Who have paid the final score
Not in khaki or in blues,
But the working clothes they wore

But we’d like to tell him something
That we think he may not know
A reminder he can stow away
Wherever he may go

All your countrymen are proud of you
And though there’s no brass band
Not a bugle nor a banner
When a Merchant Seaman lands

We know the job you’re doing
In your worn and tattered clothes
On the seas where death is lurking
Where a fellow’s courage shows

So be sure to keep your chin up
When the uniforms’ parade
What a man wears doesn’t matter
‘Tis the stuff of which he’s made

– Author Unknown

I received a letter of thanks as well aa a medal for my participation as a merchant saeaman on the murmansk run in 1942…..What a shame that the Russian government thought more of our service than the U.S.Goverment…Shame on Senator Akaka for not allowing senate bill s 663 to the senate floor for a vote.His conscience will never be clear until he rectifies this terrible injustice!!!!!!!