Part 1: Hawaiian Sen. Akaka challenged about Senate Bill S663.

[Magnoliahull]

This man is a hero as well as any of our WWII hero's, which they all were hero's. The Merchant Marines were the bravest of all and were mistreated terribly in the beginning of the war, they were unarmed sitting ducks being attacked constantly and men were killed and their ships were sunk. My father was a sailor and diver not a Merchant Marine...he told me many stories of the bravery it took for those men and how they saved us.