Captain Joe Ross Gerson, USMS, Ret., (1927-2005) Captain Joe Ross Gerson died on 2 August. A native of Detroit, he was placed in several foster homes as well as the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum fo llowing the death of his mother. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the United States Merchant Marine and then attended and grad uated from the New York State Maritime Academy at Fort Schuyler and Wayne State University of Deuoit. Joe Gerson often said that Fon Schuyler gave him a direction and a life he never could have imagined. He wanted to help other cadets succeed as he had and supported the Society in giving NMHS memberships to all Fort Schuyler cadets. His distinguished export career included Platka Export and Gerson International, an automotive export management company, for which he was awarded the prestigious President's "E" Star Award for "Excellence in Export." Later, he formed the Hydrus Corporation, overseeing the work of the Valiant Foundation, established to fund philanthropic causes worldwide. In 1999 he was conferred a Doctor of Letters by the State University of New York Maritime College, which had awarded him its Alumnus of the Year Award eight years earlier. The Alumni Association awarded him its highest honor, the Order of St. Mary's Medal in 2002 . His efforts set the stage for the founding of major maritime industry museums at Fort Schuyler, Wayne State, and Tampa. He was Chairman of the Indiana Port Commission Marketing Committee and President of the Indiana International Seafarers' Center at Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan. The Gove rnor oflndiana named him a "Sagamore of the Wabash", the highest honor the State can bestow. Joe Gerson was an outspoken advocate for a strong US industrial base, fair-free trade, and a vibrant American merchant marine.
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SEA HISTORY 113, WINTER 2005-2006
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