By John J. Turanin
For the MVI
During World War II, the highest rate of lives lost wasn’t by the military. It was America’s all-volunteer Merchant Marine. Volunteer sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine died at three times the rate of those in the Navy. They were 90% more likely to lose their lives than those in the Army, and 35% more likely than the Marines. More than 700 U.S. merchant ships were sunk by enemy submarines, surface ships, underwater mines and aircraft. Nearly 10,000 Merchant Mariners never returned.
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