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Patricia O'Neal's avatar

Thank you for this. It is interesting, informative and exactly what I needed to send to a lady who just sent me a message wanting to know why Merchant Mariners of WWII should be called 'Veterans'. Needless to say, I have sent her a link to this along with a link to usmm.org.

My father, William Thomas O'Neal, was Third Engineer on the MV Lake Osweya when it was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic in February 1942. The Lake Osweya was one of the "lost ships" and her fate was the all-consuming mystery of my sister's and my own childhood. She was one and I was three so we didn't have actual memories of him, but our mother saved all of his letters, mementos and photos and kept in close contact with his family so that we always felt as much a part of his famiily as we did her's. She died never knowing what really happened.

Just a few months after her passing, one of my sons was visiting and as we were talking he was idly messing with my computer. He asked me what the name of my father's ship was and to please spell it out for him. I did and in just a minute or two, he stopped talking and just stared at the computer. Imagine our utter surprise when uboat.net came up and there it was!! The Lake Osweya and even the names of the men who went down with her - including my father. I cannot describe the feeling that came over me, the emotions that came tumbling out, but I cried and laughed and cried some more. Tears of sadness and tears of relief at finally knowing and the pride, always there but now it was even stronger as I tried to imagine what it must have been like for all of them. Of course I couldn't imagine that horror but in the moment I tried. We still don't know, of course, if he went down with the ship or if he was one of the few who apparently made it to a lifeboat, only to perish in the harsh February weather of the North Atlantic.

This transpired about 12, 15 years ago but for some reason, your wonderful piece brought it all back as if it were only yesterday. Again, "Thank You."

Patricia O'Neal

Greenville, North Carolina

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Deb Wilson's avatar

We have just had a shake up in our family and I want to ensure that my Uncle, Harvey G. Martell, told accurate stories regarding his service in the Merchant Marines during World War II. It has recently come to the family's attention that Harvey was previously married in Canada and had children with two different women. He did not divorce the first wife, before marrying the second. Polygamy charges were made in Canada and an arrest warrant was served. Harvey fled Canada before his arrest and changed his name from "Martel" with one "L" to Martell with two "L"'s. He joined the US Merchant Marines. He then married my 20 year old aunt and never had contact with his former wives or children. In his obituary it was noted that he was the Chief Engineer on the Liberty and Victoria ships and ended the war as a ship Commander. He survived many torpedo and kamikaze attacks and anti aircraft fire while in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. This is from his obituary. Is any of this true? If not, it seems like stolen valor. Can anyone confirm or deny his Merchant Marine record? Thank you.

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