Merchant Marine - A tribute ~ Lexington, MO - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Lafayette County
Location of marker: 10th St. & Main St., courthouse lawn, Lexington
Erected by: United States Merchant Marines
Date dedicated: 2006

Marker text:

Merchant Marine
A Tribute Many men from Lafayette County served their country as sailors in the Merchant Marine during World War I and World War II when the threat of attack by submarine or aircraft was ever real.

These brave men carried on a tradition of civilian sailors serving their country in time of war and peace; a tradition which dates back to 1775.

This tribute is posted on the Lafayette County Veterans' Memorial in order to acknowledge their vital contributions to their country.

As the World War II mariners have been awarded veteran status since 1988, their courage and bravery under hazardous conditions is hereby honored by the veterans of Lafayette County.

Web link: [Web Link] History of Mark: One way to understand the Second World War is to appreciate the critical role of merchant shipping... the availability or non-availability of merchant shipping determined what the Allies could or could not do militarily.... when sinkings of Allied merchant vessels exceeded production, when slow turnarounds, convoy delays, roundabout routing, and long voyages taxed transport severely, or when the cross-Channel invasion planned for 1942 had to be postponed for many months for reasons which included insufficient shipping.... Had these ships not been produced, the war would have been in all likelihood prolonged many months, if not years. Some argue the Allies would have lost as there would not have existed the means to carry the personnel, supplies, and equipment needed by the combined Allies to defeat the Axis powers. [It took 7 to 15 tons of supplies to support one soldier for one year.] The U.S. wartime merchant fleet. . . constituted one of the most significant contributions made by any nation to the eventual winning of the Second World War.... In the final assessment, the huge US merchant fleet... provided critical logistical support to the war effort... The Oxford Companion to WORLD WAR I Additional point: Not Listed

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