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Small Merchant Marine grouping


mvmhm
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A few weeks ago we met a gent whose father served in the Merchant Marines in WWII; he and his wife dropped in this morning to bring what they had...mostly paperwork, but it give a great view into the life of a Merchant Mariner. We're also getting his burial flag (which they forgot to bring) in a couple weeks. This mariner served in the Atlantic, Med, and Pacific.

 

First is a 8X12 (when unfolded) leather wallet that contains his certificates, shot records etc.....also shown is his original ribbon bar.

 

 

Mark sends

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This is the one odd ball in the group, and the family has no idea where it came from...a 1950's German-made silvered metal US Army band musician hat emblem....

 

 

 

Mark sends

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hello, really like your group, have not seen any items from this area of collecting for along a time, a great group and a plus to any collection, thanks for sharing it with the forum Gerard

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I noticed some lettering on the cover of the wallet...very heavily worn, but was able to do some cornputer fiddleing and bring out the lettering...it says Seaman Identification issued by United States Dept of Commerce Washington DC...there's a ship in the middle of the design.

 

 

 

Mark sends

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I have several groupings like this to merchant seamen.and yours is very nice grouping. It would be tough to upgrade a grouping like this one. Nice addtion to your collection. Thanks for sharing!

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Nice that he received veterans status. A family member of mine died before that happened, and I'm not sure how to proceed to establish proof of his service and find out what ribbons he was entitled to. Seeing this post gives me hope that it can be done.

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Nice that he received veterans status. A family member of mine died before that happened, and I'm not sure how to proceed to establish proof of his service and find out what ribbons he was entitled to. Seeing this post gives me hope that it can be done.

Go on-line and download an SF-180. Complete it as best you can, and send it to the address listed for US Coast Guard (addresses are listed on the last page of the form). It appears that the USCG is the designated office for the Merchant Marines.

 

 

 

Mark sends

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Go on-line and download an SF-180. Complete it as best you can, and send it to the address listed for US Coast Guard (addresses are listed on the last page of the form). It appears that the USCG is the designated office for the Merchant Marines.

 

 

 

Mark sends

 

 

Thank you for the tip! I meant to say in my last post that is a nice grouping you have. They don't get much recognition for their vital part in the war.

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  • 5 months later...
SemperParatus

A very nice grouping to a merchant seaman. having collected material to the Merchant Marine I have often found groupings like this to be time capsules of the war at sea. Often you can piece together several years of service. find ships that were sunk and by cross referencing dates find out if the recipient was aboard at the time. The addition of the more recent DD-214 is again useful for ships served in and for awards given. I would hasten to add that I have seen more than a fair number of these DD-214s which do not list the award of the Merchant Marine Victory Medal where in most cases the recipient would have been eligible for that medal. I have not as yet been able to find out why this is the case so my thinking is that the Victory Medal did not come along until after the war and as such was not recorded in the record. Again a very nice group including original ribbons.

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