On this anniversary of the armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day or the eleventh month that ended the “war to end all wars,”  it seems worthwhile to remember the often overlooked role of merchant mariners in national defense.  Though it was kept secret during the war and largely ignored afterward, 1 in 26 mariners serving aboard US merchant ships in World WW II died in the line of duty, suffering a greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other U.S. services.

U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II