Market District

Market District. world war two U.S. Merchant Marine Anchors. The two anchors on the Port Plaza pay tribute to the brave men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine and their role in defending the United States in World War II. , , The Reserve Fleet , These anchors belonged to a Merchant Marine "Sea Track Troop Supply Ship", one of the vessels shown in the picture below, anchored in Budd Inlet from 1945 to approximately 1973. Each anchor weighs 6,000 lbs. These vessels became known as the Olympia Merchant Marine Reserve Fleet, with up to 186 ships in the reserve fleet at one time. The original monument was erected on a bluff near the fleet, by the Merchant Veterans and the Olympia Salmon Club. It was later moved to the Port Plaza in 1999 where the memorial has become a permanent tribute to our non-uniformed men and women that gave their lives in World War II., The U.S. Merchant Marines , The Merchant Marine was responsible for putting U.S. armies and equipment on enemy territory and maintaining them there. The Merchant Marine fleet carried supplies and troops to the U.S. Naval Ships during World War II, and to foreign USA bases. The Merchant Marine was also instrumental in delivering troops and equipment during invasions. The Merchant Marine performed these services at great risk because the ships were designed for transport, not for battle., Disproportionate Casualties , The world war two Merchant Marines were made up of men and women who, for a variety of reasons, were unable to serve their country during the War in a traditional military organization. However, these brave men and women wanted to serve their country. Many paid with their lives. Because most of the Merchant vessels were not equipped with extensive weapon systems, and frequently traveled alone and/or without military protection, the vessels became easy targets for the Germans and Japanese. At one point early in world war two, the Merchant Marine ships were referred to as "sitting ducks", and the German submarines that preyed on them were called "wolf packs". The Merchant Marines therefore suffered the greatest loss of life than any other branch of the U.S. military. , , One out of twenty-six (1 in 26) mariners serving aboard merchant ships in world war two died in the line of duty, suffering a greater percentage of war-related deaths than any other branch of the military. Casualties were kept secret during the War to keep information about their success from the enemy and to attract and keep mariners at sea. Newspapers carried essentially the same story each week "Two medium-sized Allied ships sunk in the Atlantic." In reality, the average for 1942 was 33 Allied ships sunk each week. Merchant ships faced danger from submarines, mines, armed raiders and destroyers, aircraft, "kamikaze," and the elements. Nearly 7,300 mariners were killed at sea; 12,000 wounded of whom at least 1,100 died from their wounds, and 663 men and women were taken prisoner. Some 66 died in prison camps or aboard Japanese ships while being transported to other camps. 31 ships vanished without a trace to a watery grave. (Total killed estimated 8,380.) One of the reasons the Merchant Marine was so important in world war two was because the Germans were trying to control shipping in the Atlantic to prevent supplies from reaching the European countries Germany was attacking. The battle for control over the Atlantic lasted from September 1939 until May 1945. Germany's submarines tried to sink merchant ships faster than the Allies could build them. Starting in 1940, through the middle of 1942, U-Boats were successful--as they sank more ships than were built., For the first two years of the war, there were no standard replacement ships being built. By 1943, the U.S. and its Allies turned this around with the production of numerous Merchant vessels in each country. In the U.S., the replacement vessels were the "Liberty Ships," "Victory Ships," and T2 Tankers. This effort has been characterized as turning the War in the Allies favor.