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By Vice Admiral Gordon McLintock, U.S. Maritime Service (Retired)
The U.S. Merchant Marine Memorial, located on the grounds of the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, is dedicated to more than 7,000 officers and men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who lost their lives to enemy action at sea in World Wars 1 and II. Unfortunately, it is a well-kept secret, but it should not be.
In 1948, when I was appointed Superintendent of the Merchant Marine Academy, I was given two collateral tasks: to get the academy nationally accredited and to raise the money to build a chapel. Public Law 485 of 17 April 1948 authorized the academy to build the much-needed chapel and to assist in raising the necessary funds through public solicitation.
The public response to our solicitation, however, was nonexistent. People were not interested in giving money to build a chapel for a government institution. We tried another tack. Since the United States was the only nation involved in World Wars I and II that did not have a memorial honoring its Merchant Marine war dead, we asked permission of Maritime Administrator Vice Admiral Edward Cochrane to build a memorial-type chapel housing a monument to our war dead. He gave his approval and his enthusiastic support. We then got a better response to our solicitations.
Among the distinguished members of the Memorial Fund Committee were Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral W. F. Halsey, and His Eminence Francis, Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of the Diocese of New York. All 53 people on the committee were contributing members.
At the suggestion of the honorary chairman of the committee, we decided to ask the shipping companies for contributions in the ratio of $150 for each cargo vessel they owned and $500 for each passenger vessel. In addition, we solicited the officers and crewmen on board every ship in the Merchant Marine, and foreign companies using the port of New York, as well. All responded handsomely. Every one of the nautical colleges in Britain sent gifts, and the lectern made from the planking of HMS Conway was presented by the National Maritime Board of Britain, representing the owners and seamen of the United Kingdom. The Kings Point staff, the Officers' and Officers' Wives’ Clubs, the Petty Officers’ Club, midshipmen, graduates, alumni, seamen’s unions, and the maritime industry all played their parts.
Interestingly, the shipowners contributed $180,000 and the seamen $235,000. It is a memorial built mainly by U.S. seamen in honor of their dead. Initially, the cost of building the memorial was estimated at $500,000. It cost
closer to a million dollars and took ten years before we could hold the dedication service. Three more years followed before everything was completed, installed, and paid for. Congressman Eugene J. Keogh (D-NY), a longtime friend of Kings Point, obtained $100,000 from the House Appropriations Committee for the chapel. The balance was all from public subscription, so it would appear we had more than fulfilled our mandate, which was to assist in defraying the cost.
One reason the funding took so long was that Mr. Louis Rothschild, Maritime Administrator from 1952 to 1955, believed that the academy was not needed in peacetime and was trying to close it down. He told me to stop making talks and television appearances, and since the newspapers had mentioned a talk I was scheduled to make the following week, ordered me to have an acute attack of laryngitis. A year later, I wrote him I was afraid of it becoming chronic; this must have tickled his risibilities because he phoned to tell me I was cured. However, he stipulated that I must not mention the memorial. This was a great drawback as everything had to be done sub rosa for four years. When Mr. Rothschild finally departed his post, the shipowners kindly added 23% more than their previous subscriptions to cover inflation caused by the gap.
The chapel’s designers came from the firm that designed the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. They offered their services at cost, making no profit. The chapel contains the Roll of Honor Book, which notes the rank or rating, ship, and date of torpedoing or other enemy action
of every officer and seaman who lost his life in enemy action in World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. Each day, the Duty Midshipman ceremoniously turns a page of the Roll of Honor Book so that the names will be continually remembered. Also included are U.S. citizens who were killed in ships of our allies and in flag-of-conven- ience ships serving under our direction. The velvet lining of the case that holds the book was cut from the same bolt of cloth as the coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth II.
The chapel was dedicated on 1 May 1961 and consecrated by the bishops and rabbis of all faiths. At that time, the committee presented the memorial chapel to the government—represented by the Maritime Administrator, J- Stakem—in trust for the nation. It is not an academy chapel per se; it is the National Memorial Chapel of the U.S. Merchant Marine, situated at Kings Point. At the dedication service it was referred to as ‘ ‘The Arlington of the Merchant Marine.” Messages were read from President John F. Kennedy and from Queen Elizabeth. President Kennedy declared the chapel a national shrine that would “stand as a national monument on the grounds of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.” The Queen s message reminded the audience of the “special bond between the seafarers of Great Britain and the United States.”
Admiral McLintock was Superintendent of the Merchant Marine Academy from 1948 to 1970. He passed away on 23 April 1990, at age 87.
$500
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$100 each
29th ANNUAL NAVAL & MARITIME PHOTO CONTEST
The U.S. Naval Institute and the Government Systems Division, Eastman Kodak Company are proud to co-sponsorthe 29th Annual Naval & Maritime Photo Contest.
Winning photos will be published in a 1991 issue of Proceedings. Cash prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st Prize 2nd Prize 3rd Prize
Honorable Mention (15)
Mail entries to:
NAVAL & MARITIME PHOTO CONTEST U.S. Naval Institute • Annapolis, MD 21402 • (301) 268-6110
DEADLINE: 31 DECEMBER 1990
Entry Rules:
- Each photograph must pertain to a naval or maritime subject (The photo is not limited to the calendar year of the contest.) Entries may not have been previously published.
- Limit: 5 entries per person.
1 Entries must be either black and white prints, color prints, or color transparencies.
- Minimum print size is 5" x 7.”
- Minimum transparency size is 35mm. (No glass mounted transparencies, please.)
a Full captions and the photographer's name and address must be printed or typed on a separate sheet of paper and attached to the back of each print, or printed on the transparency mount. (No staples, please.)
7. Entries must arrive at the U.S. Naval Institute no later than December 31, 1990.
Photographs not awarded prizes may possibly be purchased by the U.S. Naval Institute. Those photographs not purchased will be returned to the owner if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Eastman Kodak Company.