They also served....The United States Merchant Marine in WWII
Service.......Number serving....War Dead....Percent........Ratio
Merchant Marine ..243,000*..........9,521**.......3.90%........1 in 26
Marines................669,108...........19,733..........2.94%........1 in 34
Army...............11,268,000........234,874..........2.08%........1 in 48
Navy.................4,183,466..........36,958..........0.88%.......1 in 114
Coast Guard.........242,093................574..........0.24%.......1 in 421
Total.............16,576,667..........295,790...........1.78%........1 in 56
4 comments:
their story should be told more often FJ
Yes, it's an often overlooked community.
Many of the sailors died before war was even declared, in '39, '40 & '41. The US Government draw's a huge distinction between an attack on a US flag merchantman and a ship of the US Navy.
Yes, I remember how the merchant marines fought to be recognized. WWII was hard on anyone who went in harm's way, it didn't matter if you were civilian or not.
Dad flew his bomber and crew over to England, but Mom went out of NYC harbor by convoy, she said you could just about watch the people in apartments watching the convoys leave, seeing what was going...not safe.
tmw
You don't find many "commodores" around anymore either. It was a rank reserved primarily for convoy duty...admiral's (flag officer's) eschewing civilian's (as they thought of MARAD members) of holding a comparable rank...
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