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Uniforms

The United States Maritime Service wore uniforms that resembled the uniforms of officers in the United States Navy. One of the differences is visible on the shoulder boards and the dress uniforms worn by the officers. Above the stripes of these shoulder boards lies a gold anchor and wreath instead of the gold star shown the shoulder boards of Naval officers. The symbol of the gold anchor and the wreath is not the same for all United States Maritime Service officers. Like the United States Armed Forces, there are different jobs that need to be done aboard ships. For the sake of identification, the wreath symbol that rests above the shoulder board striping indicates the occupation of the officer. The anchor within the wreath indicates a line officer in the service. Other symbols that can be put within the wreath include a caduceus, a three-pointed propeller, a single leaf, four lightning bolts, a cross, two slabs with the Star of David overhead and a crescent moon. Anyone with a caduceus in the wreath works in the medical field. Someone who has a three-pointed propeller works in the engineering department. Anyone with a single leaf within the wreath works in a ship’s supply department. Someone with the four lightning bolts in the wreath is designated to radio operations. Anyone with the crescent moon within the wreath works for the steward department and deals with cooking and cleaning in galley. The last two symbols are associated with chaplains which are people who act as religious ministers aboard ships. Anyone with the cross within the wreath is designated as a Christian chaplain. Someone who has a symbol of two slabs with the Star of David floating over it is designated as a Jewish chaplain. There is a similar difference with the striping of the sleeves for the dress uniform. Another difference is seen in the cap devices worn on the combination cover. For the Navy, the device depicts an eagle perched on top of a shield of stars and stripes with two crossed anchors behind it. For the Maritime Service, the device shows an eagle perched on a shield covered by a gold anchor. The shield is also circled by a wreath of gold leaves. The collar devices which denote rank are almost identical to the U.S. Navy ranks. The exception comes from the rank denoted by a silver star. In the Navy, this represents anything from Rear Admiral (Lower Half) to Fleet Admiral which contains five stars. In the U.S Maritime Service, one silver star denotes the rank of Commodore.

Despite the many differences, the uniforms of the two services are very similar. Both services wear a khaki uniform. However, the U.S. Maritime Service wears their rank devices on the right collar and wears their collar device for their occupation on the left collar. Another part of the uniform that is worn is a breast insignia worn over the front left pocket. This is known as the Navy Reserve Merchant Marine Insignia. This insignia depicts an eagle behind a shield of stars and stripes with two crossed anchors behind it. At the bottom of the insignia, there is a scroll that reads “U.S.N.R” In 2011, this insignia was changed to the relatively new Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia. It is similar to the previous insignia with the eagle. This insignia has an eagle that is behind two crossed swords, a shield of stars and stripes and an anchor in the front.

Walt Disney Merchant Marine Emblem

The Merchant Marine patch was created by Walt Disney Studios in 1944. On July 5, 1944, The United Seamen’s Service, Inc. asked for a patch to made for this service. Walt Disney wanted to recognize the efforts of the Merchant Marine during World War II. The character pictured on the patch is known as Battlin’ Pete and it shows Pete punching a torpedo. The patch is about five inches in diameter and is still available to this day. This patch was meant to describe the life of the merchant mariner and all of the challenges that they face.

Training

People in the U.S. Maritime Service were given military training and were also gained other extensive training. The purpose of the Merchant Marine was to guard the U.S. flag merchant ships in times of war. Another job they had was to recruit, train and supply sailors to the crews of merchant ships. These mariners were trained at designated training stations, gunnery stations in the United States and Allied nations, Armed Guard training units and the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Currently, 46 USC Subtitle V includes state maritime academies in addition to the Merchant Marine Academy. These state maritime academies include the California State University Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, State University of New York Maritime College and Texas A&M University at Galveston.