U.S. Merchant Marine Casualties during World War II

Unfortunately, the U.S. Merchant Marine has no official historians and researchers, and statistics for WWII vary: Revised 5/17/02

• Mariners killed at sea "direct result of enemy action or as POW on American flag ships" Coast Guard: 5,662
• Mariners killed at sea from war causes, compiled by Captain Arthur Moore: 6,847
• Mariners died from various causes compiled by www.USMM.org: 8,249
• Mariners buried or commemorated in American Battle Monuments Commission National Cemeteries overseas: 595
• Mariners buried ABMC not found on other lists: 483
• Prisoner of War [POW] Coast Guard: 610
• POW compiled by Captain Arthur Moore: 663
• POW compiled by www.USMM.org: 671
• Died as POW Coast Guard: 37
• Died as POW in prison camps or aboard Japanese ships while being transported to other camps, compiled by Captain Arthur Moore : 66
• Died as POW compiled by www.USMM.org: 66
• Wounded, testimony in Hearings before Congress: 12,000
• Died from their wounds in Public Health Hospitals and Allied military hospitals abroad (Estimated --- records apparently destroyed): 1,100

Comparison of Merchant Marine casualty rate to other services

Service	Number serving	War Dead	Percent	Ratio
Merchant Marine	243,000*	9,349**	3.85%	1 in 26
Marines	669,108	19,733	2.94%	1 in 34
Army	11,268,000	234,874	2.08%	1 in 48
Navy	4,183,466	36,958	0.88%	1 in 114
Coast Guard	242,093	574	0.24%	1 in 421
Total	16,576,667	295,790	1.78%	1 in 56

*Number varies by source and ranges from 215,000 to 285,000. War Shipping Administration Press Release 2514, January 1, 1946, lists 243,000
**Total killed at sea, POW killed, plus died from wounds ashore

How many U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Army Transport Service casualties were there in World War II? We may never know the exact count, because the U.S. government never kept accurate records as it did for other services. The best accounting has been by Captain Arthur R. Moore, an independent researcher, in his great work, A Careless Word -- a Needless Sinking: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in Ships and Personnel, during World War II, American Merchant Marine Museum, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., 1983 to 1998.

Names of Mariners killed during World War II

We are extremely grateful to Perry and Barbara Adams of San Carlos, CA who did much of the data entry for the following names of mariners, and who graciously provided their list. Thank you!

This Database compilation was made possible by utilization of the powerful Panorama database program by ProVue Development.

The names of about 300 mariners are listed as "Unknown" at this time. We know only that a certain number of persons were lost when ships such as the Cieba, or Olympic when down. This is particularly true for Panamanian flag ships which were U.S. owned and controlled by the War Shipping Administration to carry supplies and raw material for the war effort.

Sources are listed below. Thank you all who have written with corrections and additions.

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