United States Merchant Marine Served in all Wars
Since the Revolutionary War

The United States Merchant Marine provided the greatest sealift in history between the production army at home and the fighting forces scattered around the globe in World War II. The prewar total of 55,000 experienced mariners was increased to over 250,000 through U.S. Maritime Service training programs.

Merchant ships faced danger from submarines, mines, armed raiders and destroyers, aircraft, "kamikaze," and the elements. At least 8,651 mariners were killed at sea, 11,000 wounded of whom at least 1,100 died from their wounds, and 604 men and women were taken prisoner. Some were blown to death, some incinerated, some drowned, some froze, and some starved. 60 died in prison camps, and about 500 Americans were lost while serving on Allied ships. Of the 833 large ships sunk, 31 vanished without a trace to a watery grave.


John W. Brown Liberty ship
Liberty ship John W. Brown

American Merchant Marine in Revolutionary War

American Prisoners of the Revolution Prison and hospital ships in Wallabout Bay and Names of 8000 Men

American Merchant Marine in War of 1812

American Merchant Marine in Mexican-American War

American Merchant Marine in Civil War

American Merchant Marine in Spanish-American War

American Merchant Marine in World War I
Merchant Marine Training for the Sea 1917-1920
World War I and Spanish-American War Merchant Marine Veterans Honored 1922
Merchant Marine Posters during World War I
Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (complete text of original law)

American Merchant Marine in World War II

Statistics
Troops and Cargo Transported During World War II under U.S. Army Control
Battle of the Atlantic Statistics
Allied Merchant Ship Losses 1939 to 1943
Capacity of One Liberty Ship
Heroes
Cadet Francis Dales Gets Tanker to Malta Under Blazing Attacks
William M. Thomas Awarded Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal, Polaris, June 1943
Alberto Galza saves life of two one-legged shipmates
Heroes awarded Distinguished Service Medals for manning the guns in battle
SS White Clover Mariners Awarded Medals by King George VI for Gallantry
Bruno B. Baretich (aka Barney Burnett) Gets Merchant Marine Medal
Casualties and Prisoners of War
SS William King Master Taken Prisoner of War by U-Boat
SS President Harrison: Master's Report to American President Lines
Most Dangerous Positions for Mariners during WWII
Where Deceased World War II Mariners Made their Homes American
Merchant Marine Prisoners of War or Civilian Internees during World War II
World War II Mariners Buried in National Cemeteries Overseas

World War II Merchant Marine Casualties from Brooklyn, NY

U.S. Maritime Service: Excerpts From Sheepshead Bay Heaving Line Newsletters

Insignia, Logos, Seals, Emblems

U.S. Maritime Service Insignia of Rank and Distinctive Devices and Uniforms

U.S. Merchant Marine and Maritime Service Seals

Walt Disney Merchant Marine Emblem

Equipment and supplies

Standard List Of Medical Supplies Issued to U.S. Merchant Ships

Ship Slop Chest

U.S. Coast Guard Regulations Applicable to Certain Vessels and Shipping During Emergency

Lifeboats, Lifeboat Equipment and Rafts as taught to U.S. Maritime Service Trainees

Miscellaneous

African-American mariners

Maritime Terms and Definitions (circa 1944)

Rights and Privileges of American Servicemen May 23, 1943

Bombing Targets Dedicated to U. S. Merchant Marine by Silver Streaks

Christmas Greetings by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice Admiral Land, 1944

Messages From General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior and after Normandy D-Day

Message from General Douglas MacArthur

Memorial Service and Prayers for a Mariner

Poems About the Merchant Marine

Repatriation of Merchant Seamen Naval Armed Guard and Mariners worked as a team manning the guns

U.S. Maritime Service: Excerpts From Sheepshead Bay Heaving Line Newsletters

Merchant Marine Posters during World War II

Merchant Marine Training or return to sea

Build Merchant Ships

Don't talk about ship movement or cargo

Weekly Report of U. S. Maritime Commission Representative in Honolulu for Dec. 7-15, 1941

Cigarette Sinks a Ship! Free Cigarettes for Seamen

Merchant Marine Stamp of 1946, Steamship Stamp of 1944, and First Day Covers

Duplicate items for sale

Shipmate Search

Ships
Lists of American Merchant Marine Ships
American Merchant Marine Ships in Action in the Pacific
American merchant vessels shoot down 107 Japanese planes off the Philippines
SS Adoniram Judson Survives 56 Air Raids in Philippines
SS William King Master Taken Prisoner of War by U-Boat
SS Morrison R. Waite meets the Axis at Anzio and Philippines
SS Washington in Stand-Off With U-Boat! Ten minutes to abandon ship!
SS Floyd W. Spencer Mariners and Armed Guard Bring Down Japanese Plane
SS Antoine Saugraine Crew Downs 7 Japanese Dive Bombers
SS Nathaniel Currier attacked by Japanese planes
SS Charlotte Cushman Gunners Down Five Japanese Planes off Leyte
SS Pierre L’Enfant in Action in the Mediterranean
SS Francisco Morazon's Guns Fire 10 Tons of Ammunition at Japanese
Planes. Get Critical Cargo of Bombs to Mindoro
SS White Clover Mariners Awarded Medals by King George VI for Gallantry
SS Henry Bacon rescues Norwegian refugees at cost of American mariner lives
SS President Harrison: Master's Report to American President Lines
Forgotten Convoy to Murmansk
Tanker Yamhill Battles Japanese Submarine
Shipbuilding and Ship Operators
Shipyards and Suppliers for U. S. Maritime Commission
Liberty Ships Built During World War II Listed by Shipyard
Matson Navigation Company and Oceanic Navigation Company Ships
SS Ernie Pyle Named-- Newsman Praised Merchant Marine
WSA Awards War Service Flags to 107 Operators of American Flag Ships During World War II
Training, Crew Duties, Staying at Sea
United States Maritime Service
Number of Mariners Trained by War Shipping Administration
U.S. Maritime Service to Accept 16 Year Olds for Training
Admiral E. S. Land makes plea for mariners to stay at sea
Merchant seamen urged to stay aboard ship, May 15, 1946
Training Ship: Thousands of Apprentice Seamen Get a Real Look At Life Aboard Ship
Steward's Department Duties
Deck Department Duties
Engine Department Duties
U.S. Maritime Service Training Station, St. Petersburg, Florida
U.S. Maritime Service Officer Training School, Alameda, California
U.S. Maritime Service Officer Candidate School Fort Trumbull
U.S. Maritime Service Radio Training Station Gallups Island
U.S. Maritime Service Radio Training Station Huntington, Long Island, NY
Hospital Corpsmen: U.S. Maritime Service Trains Pursers for combination medical-paper work on ships
Dedication of U.S. Maritime Service Training Station at Port Hueneme, California, on August 30, 1941
U.S. Maritime Service training station Port Hueneme The Seattle Sunday Times Rotogravure, February 22, 1942
Army Transportation Corps Marine Officers Cadet School
Army Releases Former Mariners for Sea Duty
U.S. Maritime Service Enrolling Office Answer Men
U.S. Maritime Service Enrolling Offices 1944
Gunnery Training U.S. Maritime Officers' Training Station, Alameda, CA
Gun duties and training of Mariners aboard ship
Excerpts From Sheepshead Bay Heaving Line Newsletters
Struggle for Veteran Status and Recognition
American Veterans Committee
Merchant Seamen's War Service Act, 1945 and 1947
Statement of Theodore L. Kingsley, Alumni Association of the United States Merchant Marine Cadet Corps during Hearings on HR 476, Seamen's Bill of Rights, May 16, 1947
State of Oregon House Joint Memorial No. 5, March 14, 1945 [Resolution in support of Seamen's Bill of Rights]
Memory sails on swell of patriotism, by John Luck, The Washington Times, 12/06/2001
Merchant Marines Want Theirs, By Eli Setencich, The Fresno Bee, 06/20/2001
Credit due mariners who delivered the goods, by Jack Lessenberry, Toledo Blade [Ohio] June 25, 2000
U.S. Merchant Marine Flag joins other Armed Forces Flags at Mt. Rushmore

American Merchant Marine in Korean War

American Merchant Marine in Vietnam War

 

Merchant Marine Today

Mariners and ships in Hurrican Katrina

Annual Merchant Marine Veterans Reunion at Kings Point

Jack Lawrence and Captain Arthur Moore to Receive Honorary Degrees from Merchant Marine Academy, June 20, 2005

Mar Vista High School, Imperial Beach, CA Students in learn A,B, Seas

One final victory: WWII merchant seamen restore a ship and take it for a cruise. by Tom Berg, The Orange County Register, 05/18/2001

Merchant Mariners want to keep their Fort Trumbull memorial in place, by Robert A. Hamilton, Robert Patterson/The Day, May 14, 2001

Schultz, Paul (Rear Adm.) Military Sealift Command, speech, May 7, 2003

 

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