WASHINGTON — During World War II, Herman "Hank" Rosen spent 30 days in a lifeboat with 23 other men after his ship was torpedoed. Only five survived.
Stanley Willner was a prisoner of war for three years after his ship went down. Forced to work under slave labor conditions on the infamous bridge on the River Kwai, he weighed just 74 pounds when he was liberated.
By almost any measure, Willner, 88, and Rosen, 90, belong to "the Greatest Generation," risking their lives for their country in history's deadliest war.
Yet when they came home, they did not receive the cornucopia of benefits that a grateful nation bestowed on returning veterans.
Willner and Rosen served in the U.S. merchant marine. And for reasons that remain unclear, they and thousands of others were not eligible for the education subsidies, home loan guarantees and other provisions of the GI Bill -- benefits that helped millions of veterans as they returned to civilian life.
It's an oversight the surviving merchant sailors hope to see rectified. They are lobbying Congress to approve an obscure piece of legislation called the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act.
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said the bill offered a "modest payment for the 40-plus years of lost benefits." It would provide $1,000 a month to the 10,000 surviving World War II mariners.
"It finally gives recognition to those brave guys," Rosen said of the men he sailed with.
The measure recently passed the House but has yet to make it out of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Ian Allison, 89, of Santa Rosa, Calif., who served as an engineer aboard a gasoline tanker and is co-chairman of a group called the Just Compensation Committee, thinks the chances of final passage may be improved by the fact that President Obama, as a senator, backed the legislation.
Supporters also hope to benefit from Saturday's marking of the 65th anniversary of D-day.
Congress recently agreed to provide payments to Filipinos who fought alongside American forces against the Japanese after a long campaign by that group of aging veterans.
For an issue involving such long-ago events, the proposal to help World War II merchant seamen has stirred surprisingly sharp opposition.
