Merchant Marines are necessary for national defense…

Alvin Jensen was born north of Oklee in Garnes Township and in 1936 his family moved to the north edge of Oklee along the Lost River. The family had a small herd of cattle and sold milk to the stores and private homes in Oklee, with Alvin as the delivery boy, summer and winter. 

Alvin’s older brother Ray had enlisted in the Merchant Marines in 1943 and when Alvin turned 17 in 1945, he decided to follow his brothers path, joining the Merchant Marines. When asking Alvin why, the Merchant Marines, he has two reasons. The Merchant Marines have been serving during war time since before America was founded and he, like his brother, really didn’t want to sit in fox holes.

Before the brothers had enlisted they had dabbled in the mink business. At age 11 & 14, they bought two female mink and had them bred and that is how they started their business. However, when they both were serving in the Merchant Marines, they sold their mink.

Not everyone is familiar with the Merchant Marines. The most common military designations that come to mind is the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marines. According to U.S. Merchant Marines website: www.usmm.org, The Merchant Marine is the fleet of ships which carries imports and exports during peacetime and becomes a naval auxiliary during wartime to deliver troops and war material. According to the Merchant Marine Act of 1936: “It is necessary for the national defense... that the United States shall have a merchant marine of the best equipped and most suitable types of vessels sufficient to carry the greater portion of its commerce and serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency...” During World War II the fleet was in effect nationalized, that is, the U.S. Government controlled the cargo and the destinations, contracted with private companies to operate the ships, put guns and Navy personnel (Armed Guard) on board. The Government trained the men to operate the ships and assist in manning the guns through the U.S. Maritime Service.

Alvin received his training at the U.S. Maritime Service Training Station at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Alvin started out as a wiper, oiler, went back to school and studied for his engineer license. This needs to be updated every five years, but you can upgrade to different levels every two years, and Alvin was a 3rd, 2nd and Lieutenant.

An engineers schedule is called a watch. Each watch consists of three men. An engineer, an oiler and a fireman. A watch is 4 hours long. After the four hours, you are relived to sleep, eat, etc, and the next crew takes over for their watch. There are three crews rotating daily. 

Because the licensing is handled by the U.S. Coast Guard, and changes in policy, in 1988, the Coast Guard gave Merchant seamen eligibility for military service and granted them honorable discharges. In the past, Merchant Marines were given discharge papers after each trip/job and were not eligible for veteran status. 

A tidbit from a past conversation about his sailing days, resulted in learning that you know when you are in the gulf stream or not, by touching the hull of the ship. This is because the gulf stream water is warmer and it can be felt in the temperature of the hull. Water is used to cool the equipment and this sometimes told you if you should open the flow of water or not, in the cooling systems.

From 1945 to 1953, he sailed during World War II and the Korean Conflict. He had many ports of call, mostly in northern European and Mediterranean countries. The main missions during this time was to help Europe rebuild, so most of the items being shipped were things needed to make that happen. Wheat and other food was the main cargo to the Mediterranean countries, but other items included machinery of all types, buses, trucks, cars, etc. to European countries. 

Also during his time in the Merchant Marines, he sailed 22 times to South America, and traversed the Panama Canal 44 times. One trip to Sweden, the ship got stuck in the North Sea for a week and the crew had to wait for the ice to thaw so an ice breaker could help the ship make it to the harbor.

Ray returned home after four years of service and started up the Mink Ranch again and Alvin stayed in the Merchant Marines in part to help finance the Mink Ranch. 

In 1953, Alvin returned to Oklee and married Bonnie Nelson who is also from the area. They lived in Oklee and eventually built a new home in 1960, where they still live. Life was busy for them with the addition of nine children and running their family business. Ray and his wife decided to move to Brooks so the brothers at that point split their business in two in 1985 and Bonnie and Alvin continued to raise mink. 

Over the years, Alvin has held other jobs in addition to the Mink Ranch. He has worked for the pipeline, drove bus and was the Mayor of Oklee in 1970 to 1978. And he was considered by the U.S. government to be listed as a Naval Reserve officer. 

Because he was in the Naval  Reserves, duty called again when he received a call in 1991. The Navy was looking for experienced engineers from the Merchant Marines to transport equipment due to the Persian Gulf conflict. And Alvin answered the call. So, at the age of 64, Alvin had to renew his engineers license. Off to Florida he went for two months of classes to renew his skills before he embarked on another chapter of his life in the Merchant Marines. The ship he was assigned to was a 950 foot cargo ship, and they hauled military equipment from Saudi Arabia to United States and took multiple trips, on many different ships. Alvin was discharged and returned home from the Merchant Marines in 1992. 

Sailing was still in his blood, so he continued to work on cruise ships for five years, traveling back and forth from Hawaii on the SS Independence. In 1995, his wife Bonnie and son Alan, flew out to Hawaii and joined Alvin for a week long cruise. Alvin was off duty that week and they took in a lot of sightseeing and able to participate in the 50th Anniversary of V-J Day. The island was teaming with military men also there for the celebration. Alvin said he got to shake the hand of President Clinton and one morning, had coffee with one of the Andrews Sisters, Maxine.  

Alvin came home for good and has lived a busy, interesting life with his wife Bonnie. Their eight of nine children (one was killed in a car accident) have produced 24 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren and with two more on the way.

This Veteran Day, remember to thank a Veteran, they all did an important job, whether they were carrying a gun, flying an airplane, searching for subs, or bringing in the supplies needed for the troops and the battles fought.