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Don Horton’s mother, Sadie O. Horton, and father, Capt William L. Horton, sitting on the stern of a barge around 1942. Photo courtesy Don Horton.

Don Horton of North Carolina started his career on barges during World War II at the age of 10. His father, mother, sister and brothers all worked on U.S. merchant marine coastwise tugs and barges during the war. In 1942 his eldest brother, William Lee Horton, Jr., was killed when a German U-boat attacked his tug, nine miles of the coast of Virginia. The Merchant Mariners Act of 1988 granted veterans status to merchant mariners who served during WWII.

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The Forgotten Merchant Mariners of WWII

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