National Maritime Day and Mariner Scouts
A great post of introduction to our Mariners and Scouts.
Every year on May 22, The United States observes National Maritime Day, a holiday created in 1933 to recognize the maritime industry. It was May 22, 1819 that the American steamship, Savannah, set sail from Savannah, Georgia on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Division, “The United States has always been and will always be a great maritime nation. From our origins as 13 British colonies, through every period of peace and conflict since, the Merchant Marine has been a pillar in this country’s foundation of prosperity and security. They power the world’s largest economy and strengthen our ties with trading partners around the world, all while supporting our military forces by shipping troops and supplies wherever they need to go.”
So what exactly is the Merchant Marine? The Merchant Marine is the fleet of ships which carries imports and exports…
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Posted on May 21, 2015, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
Interesting to know such ties, especially given the time involved. Another wonderful bit of history!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. Our Tugboat Captain’s wife did a great job.
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Interesting piece of history, my Father-in-law served in the Merchant Marines, he recalled the Battle of the River Plate, the Exeter, Archilles and Emden against the Graf Spee out of Montevideo, he had a memory of being torpedoed whilst in the boiler room.
Great post on a vital part the Merchant sailors played in the war.
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That must have been quite the memorable event for him!! They are a brave bunch doing their jobs out there!
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The Emden was a German raider, a Dresden Class cruiser, fought a battle with the HMAS Sydney in WW! and was lost off the Coco”s. It was the Exeter an 8″ County Class cruiser and 2,6″ cruisers the HMS ACHILLES and the HMNZS AJAX that took care of the Graf Spee on the 13th December 1939
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Thank you very much for getting this information to us, Beari. You are the history buff,and that’s terrific! [and… I can also use some help around here – people still don’t realize just how huge the Pacific War was.]
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Thanks gp that was of great interest to me, as you know I once was a guide at the ANMM in Sydney and the US connection was one of my specialities. As I wrote on the post had it not been for the US maritime service in the late 18th century right through the 19th then Australia could not have survived. It was the Seaman from the east coast of the US surprisingly that kept the colony of NSW alve. Many great tales there.
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Always great to a compliment for our troops!
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Good reminder. I will shout Congrats! at some point tomorrow.
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Thank you for yet another enlightening post. My brother’s neighbor served in the Merchant Marines; otherwise I would have been clueless about this valuable part of our country’s ‘volunteer’ unspoken heroes.
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Thanks for dropping by, Sammy. I am neglectful of them myself, which needs to be corrected. If you have any stories of that neighbor, we’d like to hear them!
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They lived near each other a long time ago, but I am going to do some more reading for my own enlightenment!
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Good idea.
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Thanks for educating the world about the Merchant Marine. As a wife of a master mariner, I’m always surprised about how many people don’t know anything about the MM!
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I think they tend to concentrate on the battles and actions that were made famous by the media at the time and that would make it the USMC. When I first started this blog, there were people who were unaware that the US Army served in the Pacific. There will be another post for 22 May, the actual date, but I saw this and couldn’t help but reblog it! We’d love to hear more from you.
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Wrote about the MM on my blog today, thank you!
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No problem. May is a very busy month – I need help from my readers and friends!!
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Possibly of interest:
http://atomicinsights.com/cover-story-why-did-savannah-fail/
—concerning the nuclear powered US merchant ship NS Savannah 🙂
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Fantastic Argus, I will add this and a link to your site in tomorrow’s post. May is a VERY busy month, isn’t it?!!
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