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May 2, 2008 12:13 am US/Eastern
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Local Merchant Marines Battle For Plaque
BUTLER (KDKA) ―
A group of local World War II civilian soldiers are fighting a new battle.
The WWII Merchant Marines have been fighting for years to get the recognition they believe they deserve and say they're ready to take Butler County officials to court.
At issue is a WWII memorial in Diamond Park in Butler. It pays tribute to the county's veterans, but you have to go to the back side of it find any mention of the Merchant Marines.
"We participated in every invasion, we participated in every landing, we went across the northern Atlantic when they didn't have convoys, " Merchant Marine Nathan DiSantis said.
The Merchant Marines, ordinary Americans sometimes called "The Forgotten Soldiers," delivered food and other vital supplies to the Allies.
It wasn't until about 20 years ago when Washington took note of the civilian soldiers and paid them belated homage, including authorizing the same government benefits to the Merchant Marines as awarded to other WWII veterans.
"What we're looking for is equal billing basically on the monument," Beverly Schenck, an advocate, said.
The veterans say they want a plaque on the front side of the memorial.
Norman Redding, a member of the WWII monument committee, tells KDKA that the committee determined the Merchant Marines were civilian - not military and they're sticking to that decision.
He says the committee offered to give the Merchant Mariners space to put a monument somewhere else in Diamond Park but the offer was refused.
The group, meantime, says they may go to court sooner rather than later to correct what they see as an injustice.
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