Maritime Day 2002 honors legacy of Merchant Marine.Capt. John Trimmer trimmer see resco nail trimmer, toenail scissors. was too young to serve in World War II--but that did not stop him from serving as a Merchant Marine sailor in three armed conflicts. "I did not apply myself well at school," said Trimmer. "I went out and found myself a job on a tug boat." Trimmer, 75, from Baltimore, was one of five Merchant Marine veterans honored May 22 in a National Maritime Day NATIONAL MARITIME DAY MAY 22 ((YEARLY)) A joint resolution of Congress designated May 22 as National Maritime Day beginning in 1933. This became so, by: Joint Resolution of Congress Designating May 22 as National Maritime Day passed May 20, 1933 Ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial, in Washington, D.C. Trimmer was cited by Maritime Administrator Capt. William Schubert, for having served in three conflicts--the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. , the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. and Operation Desert Storm Noun 1. Operation Desert Storm - the United States and its allies defeated Iraq in a ground war that lasted 100 hours (1991) Gulf War, Persian Gulf War - a war fought between Iraq and a coalition led by the United States that freed Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; . As the years went by, Trimmer usually found himself on tug boats, but he increasingly served at higher ranks. In the Korean War, he was assigned to a troop carrier that made runs between West Coast ports and Korea. Over 20 years later, Trimmer was in the Vietnam War. His most memorable experience in the conflict was shepherding four barge loads of cargo from Cam Ron Bay to other American ports along the South China Sea. "We felt we had a job to do," said Trimmer. "We did not have time to think about the danger. It came with the job." When Desert Storm came, Trimmer had 14 years of experience as a pilot and was getting ready to become an instructor at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, Md. Asked to go to sea, he joined a cargo ship as Chief Mate
A Chief Mate (C/M) or Chief Officer is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. . He made one shipment from Oakland, Calif., to Saudi Arabia. In the war zone, Trimmer said the vessel was used for several inter-region ammunition shipments. Other honorees included Capt. James Parese, the operator of a New York Harbor New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the Ports of New York and New Jersey". ferry, who voluntarily evacuated people from the city following Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Attendees of the ceremony heard Rep. Duncan Hunter urge a more robust American Merchant Marine. "We used to have thousands of American ships" said Duncan, Chairman, Merchant Marine Panel, House Armed Service Committee. "We must resolve to rebuild the industry. We need to flag American, manned by Americans serving on American-built ships." |
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