Curtis Shores proudly holds up his Congressional Gold Medal, which he recently received in the mail after a legislative act granted all Merchant Mariners of WWII the Congressional Gold Medal.  

THOMASVILLE- Former Merchant Mariner Curtis Shores never thought he would see the day when Merchant Mariners of WWII were recognized for their contributions during the War. However, thanks to a new piece of legislation, Shores finally got the recognition he deserved. 

On March 14, 2020, legislation was signed into law authorizing MARAD to award duplicates of the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest honored bestowed by U.S. Congress, to individuals who, between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, were members of the U.S. Merchant Marines, or other related services. 

More than two years later, leaders on Capitol Hill awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to surviving Merchant Mariners. 

Congressional leaders thanked the mariners for their service and said it was long overdue. 

“Thank you for being there when others were’t watching,” said House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy. “This is a beautiful medal.” 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said merchant marines had “far, far more than its share,” as they reportedly suffered what was thought to be the highest per capita casualty rate in the war. 

While Shores wasn’t able to attend the celebration on Capitol Hill, he recently received his medal in the mail and recounted his journey with the Merchant Marines. 

Shores was only 16 years old when he heard former President Franklin Roosevelt’s plea for those 17 years old and above to join the Merchant Marines. 

Shores said he remembered hearing the plea and then making the intimidating journey to Sheep’s Head Bay in New York for training, before embarking on a train trip to California, where he would board his ship and begin his year of service. 

Shores began on a shuttle run, where he spent six months on a T2 Tanker in the South Pacific. 

“It was loaded with crude oil and airplane gas,” he said. “We were kind of like a service station out in the South Pacific; we gassed up these ships, submarines and carrier planes. When they left our ship and headed off into battle, there was no telling how far they may have to go, so they had to get gas or had to ditch.” 

While Shores never was in active combat during his time as Merchant Marine, he was in an active combat area. 

“They didn’t want us in combat,” Shores said. “That wasn’t what we were about; we were supposed to get the goods to them.” 

Shores recalled the dangers on the seas though, especially the floating mines they had to avoid. 

“The Japanese strowed mines everywhere in the South Pacific,” Shores said. “You never knew if you were about to hit one, but we had watches all day and all night to lookout for these mines.” 

To help with the lookout, Shores said the Tanker had a Navy Armed Guard on board. 

“They would blow up that mine as we went,” he said. “We had Japanese submarines, who tried to tie into our course and would try to blow us up, but we had a smart captain who would zigzag instead of going straight and throw them off course.” 

Surviving his mission was a task in itself. 

“I really thought I would never see the end of that trip,” he said. “The storms were awful and we had to sleep on the top deck. We would tie ourselves in our bunks to make sure the waves didn’t sweep us away.” 

Shores did eventually see the end of his trip, though. 

On August 14, 1945, Shores was aboard the SS White Oak Ship, en route to the Guam Harbor in the Mariana Islands in the South Pacific. While en route, the island learned Japan had agreed to surrender. The island began sounding the air raid sirens and people were screaming. The news had not reached the SS White Oak, so Shores thought the Japanese had returned to overtake Guam. However, the Captain then came over the PA system and announced the good news. 

Shores disembarked the SS White Oak and visited the USS Missouri, where the official signing to declare the end of WWII would take place on September 2, 1945.  Once Shores successfully finished his mission alive, he returned home. 

“I feel like I was owed something,” he said. “The Merchant Marines were not in the military; we were cut off when we got home. They paid us off and said ‘Goodbye’ and that was it.” 

Shores wasn’t home for long, though. He was then called to join the Army, while waiting for his ship to go back out. 

“The Draft Board caught me and told me to volunteer, so I signed up,” he said. “I had intended to make the Merchant Marines my career, but I didn’t get to do it, simply because I met a little young girl.” 

Shores later married that young woman, before having a daughter Rhonda Parrish, who said she is extremely proud of her father for everything he has done throughout his life.  Shores thanked his daughter and explained that receiving this award has put him on “cloud nine”, as he will always remember those formative years in his life.