[BITList] Fwd: Snowdon media release - REMEMBERING OUR MERCHANT MARINERS [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[John Feltham]

Sent from a traveling iPad, in The Netherlands.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=10813




Begin forwarded message:

> From: DVA Mailing List <info at dvalists.aaa.net.au>
> Date: 3 September 2012 4:13:54 GMT+02:00
> To: minister-media at dvalists.aaa.net.au
> Subject: Snowdon media release - REMEMBERING OUR MERCHANT MARINERS [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
> Reply-To: dvamedia at dva.gov.au
> 
> Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Subscription List
> 
> 
> Monday, 3 September 2012                                                                                                              
>  
> VA073
>  
> REMEMBERING OUR MERCHANT MARINERS
>  
> On Merchant Navy Day, Australians remember the invaluable contribution made by thousands of merchant seamen, who courageously served on Australian, Commonwealth and Allied ships, and on merchant ships from other nations, during the First and Second World Wars.
>                                                                                                                                                 
> Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon, said Merchant Navy Day is a time to honour all those who served and the more than 400 Australian merchant mariners who lost their lives on perilous seas.
>  
> “Outside of the veteran community, the contribution of these brave Australians is not widely known, due to the covert nature of their wartime convoys,” Mr Snowdon said.
>  
> “Merchant mariners were a mix of defence force personnel and civilian shipmen travelling across the sea to transport service personnel, deliver equipment, food and fuel supplies, and helping evacuate civilians from threatened areas.
>  
> “Many were volunteers working on an assortment of ships that had been gathered for the war effort,” he said.
>  
> Mr Snowdon said merchant ships faced dangerous situations, coming under threat from enemy  submarines, aircraft and mines, often in unpredictable weather. They were an easy target for the enemy, due to their large size, slow speeds and limited defensive weapons.
>  
> Some 435 Australian merchant mariners who died during their service are recorded on memorials around Australia, but it is likely that many more were killed, given that Australians also served in the merchant navies of other nations.
>  
> Declared as a national day of observance in 2008, Merchant Navy Day is commemorated on 3 September each year to mark the sinking of the first Allied merchant vessel, the British liner Athenia during the Second World War. The United Kingdom and Canada also commemorate Merchant Navy Day on 3 September.
>  
>  
>  
> Media inquiries:     
> Minister Snowdon:    Marcus Butler 02 6277 7820 / 0417 917 796
>                                     Department of Veterans’ Affairs Media: 02 6289 6203
>  
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