Author recounts Merchant Marine experiences in World War II

By Michael Scott-Blair

RANCHO BERNARDO – A 40-foot wave of frigid ocean towered over the tiny lifeboat in which 24 men huddled.

Just a few hours earlier, their Liberty Ship, the U.S.S. John Drayton, had been torpedoed off the East Coast of Africa.

It was the night of April 21, 1943.

As the 24 Merchant Marines clambered into their boat, they didn't know that it would be 30 days before they would be found, and that only five of them would survive.

On the 61st anniversary of the sinking, survivor Herman E. (Hank) Rosen of Rancho Bernardo recalled those harrowing times before an audience at Rancho Bernardo branch library.

Rosen has written a book on his experiences called "Gallant Ship, Brave Men."

"Europe was at war, and the United States was in turmoil," he said. "The public was divided over support for the war; the U.S. Senate was opposed, and students marched in protest against any suggestion of joining Britain and the allies."

But all that changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which sent Rosen and many friends to enlistment offices.

"I'd seen an advertisement in a magazine inviting men to attend the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, Long Island, N.Y., and decided that was for me," he said. Not part of the Armed Forces, the Merchant Marines ferried troops and suppolies around the world.

The John Drayton was his first ship, one of the prefabricated Liberty Ships that were being riveted together and launched at the rate of one a day, he said.

"We were loaded with 10,000 tons of ammunition, tanks, jeeps, trucks, clothing and other supplies and told to take them to the Persian Gulf, where they would be unloaded and ferried to help the Russian troops defending Stalingrad," Rosen recalled.

To avoid the German U-boat packs, the John Drayton left New York and hugged the East Coast. She went through the Panama Canal, around South America, across the South Atlantic to Africa and up the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf.

The ship steamed more than 17,000 miles to make its delivery and had just started the journey back when the torpedo hit.

"'Abandon Ship' are two terrible words," said Rosen. "The ship is your home, it is everything, and now you must leave it for this tiny lifeboat no bigger than an average rowboat."

Two submarines surfaced and started to shell the John Drayton but not the survivors.

"We were lucky. They were Italian sailors. A German crew would have machine-gunned us," Rosen said.

A rogue wave capsized the boat, and it took the men eight hours to get it upright and everyone back in. But now there were no supplies.

It was burning hot during the day and freezing cold at night. When it rained, Rosen said, they spread their clothes in the bottom of the boat and wrung the water out to drink.

Rosen weighed 140 pounds when he entered the lifeboat, but only 90 pounds when rescued. By then, 19 of his shipmates had perished from malnutrition and exposure.

Rosen still marvels at the international involvement in the rescue. His ship was sunk by an Italian submarine (the Leonardo da Vinci). A Scotsman flying for the South African Air Force spotted the lifeboat and directed a Greek freighter to the rescue.

Rosen went on to serve in many other theaters in World War II as a lieutenant commander.

He speaks very quietly when he recalls how, for the all-volunteer Merchant Marines, there were no parades or ticker tape welcoming them home. There was no GI Bill, no benefits, barely a "thank you," despite their major involvement and high death toll in World War II, he said.

Rosen's book on his experiences is available at major bookstores and on the Internet. He said proceeds from the book will go to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

"It was 1988 before Merchant Marines were even recognized as veterans," said Rosen. "Hopefully this book can help people understand a little more about the Merchant Marines – the forgotten service."

From: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20040507-9999-m1m07tfrbdo.html