WEBVTT

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(gentle piano music)

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- [Narrator] From the icy
waters of the Murmansk Run,

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to the tropical waters of the
Pacific and Indian oceans,

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American Merchant Mariners
delivered vital war material

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required to secure an Allied
victory in World War II.

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More than 250,000 members

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of the American Merchant Marine

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served their country,

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with more than 8,000
Mariners killed at sea,

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12,000 wounded, hundreds being
detained as prisoners of war,

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and 800 US merchant ships
being sunk or damaged.

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In the final moments of World War II,

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General Dwight D. Eisenhower said,

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"When final victory is ours,

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"there is no organization
that will share its credit

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"more deservedly than
the Merchant Marine."

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(flag flaps)

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At Military Sealift Command,

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we honor the strategic importance

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and the greatness of our
U.S. Merchant Marines.

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(gentle piano music)