[CW] May 22 - National Maritime Day - White House Declaration 2020

[Bill Lanahan]

 A great honor and tribute!

Congratulations and thank you for your
 dedicated Service. 

Bill

> On May 22, 2020, at 12:34 PM, D.J.J. Ring, Jr. <n1ea at arrl.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Thank you, President Trump for honoring the United States Merchant Marine and the mariners who served there on MARITIME DAY, May 22, 2020. I received my USCG Merchant Mariner's License as a radio officer, this date, in 1980, 40 years ago today. Little did I know then that just over three months later was I to be involved in what has been called the greatest air-sea rescue of all time with the rescue of Netherlands Antilles registered Holland-America passenger ship "ms PRINSENDAM" in the Gulf of Alaska, all 535 passengers and crew were rescued safely without loss of life by answering the SOS and later taking over the communications at the request of the burning ship's radio officer, then sending three SOS relay calls and controlling the SOS for the next 17 hours. An episode marked by outstanding international cooperation between the various military branches of the USA and Canada, the U.S. Merchant Marine, and foreign Merchant Navies.  The Continuous Wave radiotelgraphy system on ships resulted in outstanding communications, our signals were heard as far away as ZLB in New Zealand on 500 kHz Distress frequency using only a 60 watt battery emergency transmitter as the keying in the ship's high power transmitter had failed the day before and the temporary substitution of an engine room relay for a keying relay had not been sufficient to restore it through the SOS.
> 
> 
> The White House
> 
> Office of the Press Secretary
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> May 21, 2020
> 
> NATIONAL MARITIME DAY, 2020
> 
> - - - - - - -
> 
> BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
> 
> A PROCLAMATION
> 
> Since the founding of our great Nation, we have relied on merchant mariners to deliver goods to market and strengthen our national security. On National Maritime Day, we recognize the United States Merchant Marine for all it does to facilitate our commerce and protect our interests at sea.
> 
> Our Nation's merchant mariners enable peaceful trade with countries around the world and provide vital sealift support to our Armed Forces. Whether on the ocean or our inland waterways, merchant mariners support our economy by transporting billions of dollars of imported and exported goods. These men and women also sail bravely into combat zones to deliver supplies and weapons to our military men and women, playing a critical role in the success of their mission.
> 
> This year, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we pay tribute to the United States merchant mariners who served as the "Fourth Arm of Defense" for our Nation during the war. Earlier this year, I was proud to sign into law long-overdue legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the valiant civilian merchant mariners who maintained critical supply lines to our overseas troops and allies during the Second World War. Many of these mariners endured brutal attacks from German U-boats, and more than 6,000 of them perished at sea or were held as prisoners of war. This number includes 142 students of the United States Merchant Marine Academy -- distinguishing it as the only one of the five service academies authorized to carry a battle standard.
> 
> As we remember the tremendous sacrifices of the World War II merchant mariners, we also continue to honor the present‑day citizen mariners who make up our Nation's world‑class Merchant Marine. Today, we pay tribute to their expertise, patriotism, and dedication to serving our country and ensuring our national security.
> 
> The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 of each year as "National Maritime Day" to commemorate the first transoceanic voyage by a steamship in 1819 by the S.S. Savannah. By this resolution, the Congress has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its appropriate observance.
> 
> NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 2020, as National Maritime Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance and to display the flag of the United States at their homes and in their communities. I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day.
> 
> IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
> 
> 
> DONALD J. TRUMP
> 
> ______________________________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net
> CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
> Unsubcribe send email to
> cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
> Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> 
> =30=
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/attachments/20200522/f7c319a7/attachment.html>