National Maritime Day

The US Merchant Marine is a fleet of civilian ships that transport cargo and passengers in US waters and on international routes. In peacetime, they're merchant sailors. In wartime, they become auxiliary naval support, the 'fourth arm of defense.' The US Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY) is one of the five federal service academies, alongside West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, and Coast Guard Academy. Its graduates serve the Merchant Marine in peace and war.

WWII Merchant Marine service was extraordinarily dangerous. Of 250,000 merchant mariners, approximately 9,300 died, a 3.6% casualty rate. This was the highest casualty rate of any US service branch, higher than the Marines, Army, or Navy. Merchant mariners delivered every bullet, bean, and tank to the war effort. Despite this, they were not recognized as WWII veterans until 1988, 43 years after the war ended. President Reagan signed the legislation granting retroactive veterans' status. Many of the original merchant sailors had already died; few received their benefits.

The modern US merchant fleet has dramatically declined. In the 1950s, about 1,268 US-flagged merchant ships sailed the oceans. Today fewer than 80 US-flagged ships are in international commerce. The 1920 Jones Act still requires US-flagged ships for domestic water transport, controversial (critics say it raises shipping costs in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaska), but still in force. The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Merchant Marine Academy continue training mariners. National Maritime Day on May 22 honors all American maritime tradition: the merchant sailors, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the fishermen, the longshoremen, and the two centuries of American seafaring.

Defining events in US seafaring history:

Coastal cities with deep seafaring traditions: