RESEARCH IDENTIFIES MAJOR DEFICIENCY of WW II MERCHANT MARINERS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Recent research of 29 barges and tugs brought forth 1172 seamen who served between 1942 and 1943. From that group there were 84 seafarers with traditionally female names who served aboard those vessels. That transmits to a ratio of almost 9 percent of the work-force being women, if one could use this finding to be an approximate ratio of seamen who served on coastwise vessels. In today’s military service, where women are recognized for their service, the ratio is placed at 14%. This finding provides an astounding proportion of women serving during World War II in the Merchant Marine that have never been officially recognized as seamen and veterans. This is wrong and it must be corrected. USCG Official Shipping/Discharge documents (Forms 718A) were obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration, Wash. DC that contained information proving Active Duty (AD) services for some WW II coastwise barge and tug Merchant Mariners. In conjunction with information obtained via a FOIA request to the National Maritime Center, research conducted between June-August 2013, in concert with the NMC, using official records of 1172 coastwise merchant mariners revealed the following: WW II Coastwise Mariners Listing: Ref: Excel Sheet #1 1172 Mariners identified via official USCG Shipping/Discharge Forms 718A 84 Mariners may be women according to their feminine sounding names; OR 7.2% 1058 Mariners’ ages were specified. Ages ranged from 10 to 78. 583 Mariners identified within draft age and included those in 4F status; OR 55.1% of known ages. 525 Mariners identified at over the draft age of 37; OR 49.6% of known ages. 114 Mariners with age not specified; OR 09.7% 47 Mariners who served were under the age of 17; OR 4.4% of known ages. 16 Mariners KIA with 1 receiving DD Form 1300. National Maritime Form DD 214 Listing: Ref: Excel Sheet #2 794 Mariners were identified on NMC Coastwise Mariners listing identifying AD services. 291 Mariners on NMC listing had no USCG MMLD numbers listed; OR 36.6% 85 Mariners issued DD Form 214 from NMC listing, OR 10.7% of NMC; OR 7.2% of WW II CMM National Maritime DD Form 1300 listing: Ref: Excel Sheet #3 348 Mariners listed on NMC DD 1300 file as having received DD Form 1300 from overall estimated number of approximate 9500 Mariners KIA, OR 3.7% 1 Mariner in NMC DD 1300 files as having received Form DD 1300 yet 16 identified on WW II CM listing. 68 Mariners listed on NMC listing & not listed on WW II MM Personnel Casualty Summary Report of 1950 Earlier research had brought forth two other actions that have prohibited seamen who served in the Merchant Marine during World War II from seeking recognition as veterans. (1) The Commandant of the US Coast Guard’s Order of 20 Mar 1944 relieved the masters of tugs and seagoing barges of the responsibility of issuing shipping and discharge papers to seamen. (2) The US Maritime Administration issued orders to destroy ship’s deck and engine logbooks in the 1970s. They indicated they were too costly to maintain, too cumbersome to maintain and hardly used for research. The USCG Reference Information Paper #77 dated April, 1990 refers.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 02:27:50 +0000
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