What About.....????

[Vince]

Just wondering about a here to fore never heard of topic-the Merchant Marine in the war against Japan. Did these guys get credit for supplying the war against Japan? And how did they succeed so nobly in the vast reaches of the Pacific? Or was the fleet re-supplied through the U.S. Navy without Merchant Marine involvement? This one really has me lying awake nights wondering! Any ideas?

Semper FI!

Vince (Victory At Sea) Sposato[huh]

 

[Stearmen]

Submarines

I can not really answer your question, but I do know one of the major reasons was the Japanese submarine force! They felt it was below the status of the warrior to attack lowly supply vessels, so they concentrated on capital ships, with some spectacular sinkings, that had little to do with the final outcome of the war. The Allied submarines spent most of there time sinking the Japanese Marus, which strangled Japan!

 

[Story]

The Merchant Marine was as active and critical to the war effort in the Pacific as it was the Atlantic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Pacific_War_Zone_Medal

See also
http://www.usmm.org/wsa/shipspacific.html

A total off 44 merchant vessels were sunk in the Pacific, most of them Liberty ships of the fleet that carried millions of tons of military cargo during the global war. A majority were sunk by Japanese suicide pilots but ordinary bombing, shellfire and, torpedo attack also took a heavy toll. The Japs also sank American freighters in the Indian Ocean. There were also German attacks there.

Heaviest casualty ratio of all the branches.

Service Number serving War Dead Percent Ratio
Merchant
Marine 243,000* 9,521** 3.90% 1 in 26
Marines 669,108 19,733 2.94% 1 in 34
Army 11,268,000 234,874 2.08% 1 in 48
Navy 4,183,466 36,958 0.88% 1 in 114
Coast Guard 242,093 574 0.24% 1 in 421
Total 16,576,667 295,790 1.78% 1 in 56

http://www.usmm.org/casualty.html