CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Jack Fry Marshall, 100, is among the World War II veterans who have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in the U.S. Merchant Marines.

Marshall, a lifelong resident of Montgomery County who grew up in Rossview, is a retired farmer and Master Mariner who served in World War II.

Jack Marshall was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the Merchant Marines during World War II. (Contributed)

Earlier this year, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II, who played crucial roles in the country’s war effort, according to a Department of Defense news release.

In 2020, Congress passed the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act to recognize the merchant mariners for their courage and contributions during the war.

“(President Franklin D. Roosevelt) called their mission the most difficult and dangerous transportation job ever undertaken,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at the ceremony, which was held at the U.S. Capitol and attended by congressional and military leaders.

The Congressional Gold Medal will be displayed at the American Merchant Marine Museum in Kings Point, New York. In addition, each of the surviving merchant mariners — now estimated to number about 12,000 from the World War II years — will receive a bronze replica of the coveted award.

At the U.S. Capitol, World War II members of the U.S. Merchant Marine pose for a photograph with replicas of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to merchant mariners for their service during the war, May 18, 2022. (Department of Defense)

About merchant mariners

During World War II, nearly 250,000 civilian merchant mariners served as part of the U.S. military and delivered supplies and armed forces personnel by ship to foreign countries engulfed in the war. Between 1939 and 1945, 9,521 merchant mariners lost their lives — a higher proportion than those killed than in any military branch, according to the National World War II Museum.

Americans might know little of the contributions of the U.S. Merchant Marines. They are civilian sailors who operate ships carrying commercial goods to worldwide ports. During wartime or a national emergency, the U.S. military can call the merchant mariners into service to transport personnel and supplies to wartime theaters.

In 1988, the mariners became eligible for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The mariners have their own federal-service school — similar to those of the U.S. military branches — at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. In his 2018 academy commencement speech, then-Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said the United States needs its merchant mariners for commerce and, when “storm clouds gather,” to support the U.S. military in the fight.