The Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the

United States Merchant Marine United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

established by an Act of Congress on August 8, 1946.

Conditions

The decoration is awarded to officers and men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served aboard American-flagged

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s for at least 30 days between December 7, 1941, and September 3, 1945.Code of Federal Regulations: Title 46 – Shipping; PART 350—SEAMEN'S SERVICE AWARDS
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Design

The medal is a bronze disc suspended from a ribbon with wide red edges and a red center flanked by narrow stripes of yellow, green, blue, and white. The front of the medal shows a woman standing on the ocean's surface holding a

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

in her right hand and an

olive branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...

in her left hand. To the left of the woman is the word "WORLD" and to the right of her is "WAR II". The reverse side shows an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

inside a rope circle, around which is wound a ribbon marked "FIRMITAS", "ADVERSARIA", and "SUPERAT" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "The strength to overcome an adversary"). In a circle around the edge of the reverse side are the words "UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE 1941-1945".Collections Online: Merchant Marine Victory Medal
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John R. Sinnock John Ray Sinnock (July 8, 1888 – May 14, 1947) was the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1925 to 1947. History Sinnock was the designer of the Roosevelt dime and Franklin half dollar, among other U.S. coins. His initials ca ...

designed the medal. File:Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal reverse side.jpg, The reverse side of the medal.

References

{{reflist Awards and decorations of the United States Merchant Marine Awards established in 1946 1946 establishments in the United States

Conditions

Design

See also

References