Lee Today

U.S. World War II Merchant Marine veteran James Sciple received a Congressional Gold Medal alongside other veterans in honor of Memorial Day. 

In a Memorial Day Ceremony on May 18, the 117th Congress of the United States held a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in order to honor the merchant mariners of World War II, who were civilian mariners who put their lives on the line to keep soldiers fed and armed. Throughout the war, 9,000 to 12,000 mariners died, a higher loss rate than even the marines with no additional honors given to them until this week, according to We Are The Mighty. 

"Well personally for years I thought that it would never happen, and when it did it was just something – it was very difficult to believe," Sciple said. "It's an honor. It’s so difficult to explain."

Sciple of North Fort Myers, Florida joined a handful of other surviving mariners to receive their awards at National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., honoring the merchant mariners who served as the supply line to American and allied forces during World War II. Sciple began his training in 1943 at St. Petersburg and first worked on a freighter before serving on LST vessels that were engaged in active landings and conflict.

"Without the Merchant Marine, the war would have taken much longer," Sciple said. "We were taking troops, we were taking supplies for our troops, for troops of other countries. And I think we did an excellent job. We lost a lot of men, but that was expected."

According to the National WWII Museum, 243,000 mariners served in World War II, 9,521 of whom perished while serving. In total, about 4% of U.S. Merchant Mariners who served were killed, a higher casualty rate than that of any of the American military services during World War II.

Thanks to the efforts of the Merchant Mariners, 270 billion long tons of cargo were carried to support war efforts, risking their lives in the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to CIMSEC.