LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim May 22, 2014, as Maritime Day in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who give
positive definition to the profile and disposition of our American char-
acter profoundly strengthen our shared commitment to the exercise of
freedom; and
WHEREAS, National Maritime Day commemorates the first voyage of a
steamship across the Atlantic Ocean; and
WHEREAS, On May 22, 1819, the S.S. Savannah departed for Europe under
steam; although the ship was also rigged with sails, it paved the way
for future steamship success; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress, by joint resolution of May 20,
1933, designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day; and
WHEREAS, Today, National Maritime Day honors shipping and merchant
marines in general; and
WHEREAS, The American Merchant Marine is the lifeline which links
America with its overseas trading partners; in times of peace, it builds
our economy; in times of national emergency, it provides logistic
support to our United States Armed Forces; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, various estimates state that a total of
at least 5,662 to more than 8,300 merchant seamen and officers died or
went missing, as many as 12,000 were wounded, and more than 600 became
prisoners of war; and
WHEREAS, Some sources place the number of merchant marines killed in
excess of 9,000, including those who eventually died from wartime inju-
ries; and
WHEREAS, However, because the merchant marine was not, and is not, a
single discrete organization, and it did not have a centralized record-
keeping system or any official historians, researchers or archives, the
records of the numbers of merchant marines killed, wounded, missing and
taken prisoner vary considerably; consequently a final exact accounting
of all casualties may never be known; and
WHEREAS, Depending on the numbers one accepts, the proportional casu-
alty rate for the United States merchant marines may have either
exceeded that of any of the uniformed military services, or was only
slightly less than that of the United States Marine Corps; however, more
recent analyses have called these long-standing estimates into question;
and
WHEREAS, Whatever the actual numbers, however, the critical fact
remains that many thousands of civilian merchant marines bravely served
the United States during World War II, and thousands of those sailors
died in combat, without receiving the honor, recognition and respect of
similar sacrifices made by the uniformed military services; and
WHEREAS, The first maritime school in the country, SUNY Maritime is a
four-year college located on a 55-acre scenic waterfront property at
historic Fort Schuyler on the Throgs Neck peninsula; this illustrious
institution prepares students for careers in the maritime industry,
government, military, and private industry; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 22, 2014, as Mari-
time Day in the State of New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York.