U.S. Maritime Service

[FC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-uMAZAZ2lA

I've never heard of this.

[Dr.Hess]

Merchant Marine.   In WWII, the Merchant Marine had a higher casualty rate than the Marine Corp.

My first ship was a T2 tanker.

[FC]

This service was para-military.

Surprisingly high death rate.

[Dr.Hess]

It's the Merchant Marine.  During WWII, I think some merchant sailors were drafted.  There was also a lot of "conscription" outside of an actual draft.  I knew a Chief Engineer that started out that way.  When he was 13, he was in trouble a lot.  He lived in Mississippi.  During the war, when arrested one time the judge told him he could go out on a merchant ship or to prison.  He chose the merchant ship where they put him to work as a Wiper, or the lowest rank in the engine room.  40 years later, he was still sailing and had worked his way up to the top of the pyramid in that department, Chief Engineer, equal in rank to a Captain but for the Engine Department, not the Deck Department. And yes, 13 was way too young to be a sailor, but, hey, there was a war on and this kid was trouble.

The U.S. Merchant Marine came under various services through the decades.  During war, I think it still rolls up to the Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard manages all licensing and documentation.  I was a licensed Deck Officer.  My license expired, but I could go renew it if I wanted to.  There are several academies, including the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY, which is Federal Government run and at an equal level to the other military academies such as West Point.  I believe graduates can chose any branch of the Armed Forces to enter as an officer, or could at one time.  Of course, it is very rare for that to happen.  Some states also have equivalent Merchant Marine Academies, including California, Maine (big one), New York (yes, one Fed, one State academy), Massachusetts and Michigan.  So, yeah, it is kinda para-military.