The Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine. Because the Merchant Marine was not considered a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Purple Heart was not available to Merchant Mariners; as such, the Mariner's Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 10 May 1943 to solve this dilemma.
Awarded only to members of the United States Merchant Marine, the Mariner's Medal recognizes seamen who were killed or wounded as a direct result of conflict against an opposing armed force; in specific, it was awarded to any seaman who while serving in a ship during a war period is wounded, suffers physical injury, or suffers through dangerous exposure as a result of an act of enemy of the United States. In the event any such seaman dies from the wounds or injuries before the award can be made to him, the medal may be presented to the person named in the War Risk Policy as his beneficiary. 6,635 Mariner's Medals were awarded for service in the Second World War; all further awards of the Mariner's Medal were suspended on 30 June 1956 and has not been awarded in subsequent U.S. theaters of conflict.
Although the Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal is considered a federal service decoration, it may be worn on the uniforms of active duty service members.
Read more about Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal: Design
Famous quotes containing the words merchant marine, merchant, marine and/or mariner:
“People run away from the name subsidy. It is a subsidy. I am not afraid to call it so. It is paid for the purpose of giving a merchant marine to the whole country so that the trade of the whole country will be benefitted thereby, and the men running the ships will of course make a reasonable profit.... Unless we have a merchant marine, our navy if called upon for offensive or defensive work is going to be most defective.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“God has a hard-on for a Marine because we kill everything we see. He plays His game, we play ours.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)
“I must have the gentleman to haul and draw with the mariner, and the mariner with the gentleman.... I would know him, that would refuse to set his hand to a rope, but I know there is not any such here.”
—Francis, Sir Drake (1540–1596)