2002 Ad

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, May-June, 2002 by Mike Bellafaire

Capt. John Trimmer was too young to serve in World War II--but that did not stop him from serving as a Merchant Marine sailor in three armed conflicts.

"I did not apply myself well at school," said Trimmer. "I went out and found myself a job on a tug boat."

Trimmer, 75, from Baltimore, was one of five Merchant Marine veterans honored May 22 in a National Maritime Day Ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial, in Washington, D.C. Trimmer was cited by Maritime Administrator Capt. William Schubert, for having served in three conflicts--the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

As the years went by, Trimmer usually found himself on tug boats, but he increasingly served at higher ranks. In the Korean War, he was assigned to a troop carrier that made runs between West Coast ports and Korea.

Over 20 years later, Trimmer was in the Vietnam War. His most memorable experience in the conflict was shepherding four barge loads of cargo from Cam Ron Bay to other American ports along the South China Sea.

"We felt we had a job to do," said Trimmer. "We did not have time to think about the danger. It came with the job."

When Desert Storm came, Trimmer had 14 years of experience as a pilot and was getting ready to become an instructor at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, Md. Asked to go to sea, he joined a cargo ship as Chief Mate. He made one shipment from Oakland, Calif., to Saudi Arabia. In the war zone, Trimmer said the vessel was used for several inter-region ammunition shipments.

Other honorees included Capt. James Parese, the operator of a New York Harbor ferry, who voluntarily evacuated people from the city following Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Attendees of the ceremony heard Rep. Duncan Hunter urge a more robust American Merchant Marine.

"We used to have thousands of American ships" said Duncan, Chairman, Merchant Marine Panel, House Armed Service Committee.

"We must resolve to rebuild the industry. We need to flag American, manned by Americans serving on American-built ships."