The Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal is a decoration of the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

. Because the Merchant Marine was not considered a branch of the

U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; 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.

Design

Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 25, 1885 – January 31, 1966) was an American Sculpture, sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco in the United States, Art Deco movement. ...

, subsequent awards of the medal are represented by 5/16th inch gold stars affixed to both the suspension ribbon and the ribbon bar. The cases supplied with the medal were also used for the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal and the

Merchant Marine Meritorious Service Medal The Merchant Marine Meritorious Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine. It is awarded to any seamen of any ship operated by or for the War Shipping Administration who is commended by the Administrator for conduct or se ...

. On original Second World War issues of the Mariner's Medal, a small triangle separates "United" and "States"; re-issues have a small dot. Also on originals, the designer's initials "P.M." (Paul Manship) are below the wreath, to either side of the cuff; subsequent re-issues of the medal lack these devices.

References

External links

Laws Establishing Merchant Marine Medals
{{Paul Manship, state=collapsed Awards and decorations of the United States Merchant Marine Awards established in 1943 Works by Paul Manship Wound decorations 1943 establishments in the United States

Design

See also

References

External links