In war and peacetime, the United States Merchant Marine served the country from its founding onward, including 250,000 who served in World War II, 670 who were taken prisoner, and more than 6,700 who gave their lives. During World War II, 144,970 members of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard stood watch and manned guns on merchant marine ships, providing firepower to protect ships and cargo carried to battle zones, and 1,810 of them died in action.
