Merchant marine survivors of World War II

World War II could not have been fought and won without the U.S. Merchant Marine. Crewed by civilian seamen in peacetime and carrying much of the nation's ocean-borne commerce, the Merchant Marine is often considered the ""fourth arm of defense"" in wartime. As such, it provided vital logistical support for beachheads in all theaters of operation during the war. The 20 World War II Merchant Marine veterans featured in this oral history served in all theaters of war. Most had at least one ship torpedoed, bombed, shelled or mined out from under them--some of them two. Some became prisoners of th