From the Jan. 17, 2010, Cleveland.com "World War II merchant mariner enlisted fresh but hardened by war" by Brian Albrecht.
In 1942, 17-year-old Walt Nichols tried to get into the US Army Air Force, but his brother tore up the application, saying he'd get killed. Nichols then applied to join the Merchant Marine which his brother thought was safer.
However, at the time, an average of 33 Allied merchant ships were sunk each week, mostly by German U-boats and often in sight of the US coast.
A total of 9,521 Merchant Mariners died, one of every 26 serving, the highest proportion of any branch.
It was the Merchant Marine's job to make sure troops were supplied and war machinery kept rolling. There were 4,000 ships delivering an average of 17 million pounds of cargo every hour of every day from Pearl Harbor to VJ Day.
To This Day, There Are Those Who Think the Service of These Brave Men Was Not As Dangerous As Those in the Regular Services, Which Is a Travesty. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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