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Article: Merchant Marine still seeking respect; 'They couldn't have won the war without us'
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- May 27, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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When the United States entered World War II, Frank Dorner tried
to join the Marine Corps, but he flunked the physical. A problem
with his teeth, they told him.
That's when he saw a recruiting poster in his Southwest Side
neighborhood that beckoned: "Join the Merchant Marine. Be a Hero.
Help Your Country."
Dorner didn't even know what the Merchant Marine was when he went
to the recruiting office, but they didn't mind his teeth. Days
later, he was on his way to Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., for training.
'I know I helped our country'
For the next three years, Dorner sailed the seas in support of