Our chained buttons for the U.S. Maritime Service’s Blue Mess Dress (actually black) and White Mess Dress uniforms feature two gold-plated buttons embossed with the USMS emblem introduced during World War II to replace the service’s original emblem.
It retains several components of its predecessor—fouled anchor, shield, and two stars—but replaced the circular “United States Maritime Service” inscription with the initialism “USMS” and, more importantly, added the encircling laurel wreaths that are the signature image associated USMS insignia on shoulder boards, sleeve devices, and branch insignia.
The presence of laurel leaves on an insignia is a good way to distinguish between USMS and United States Merchant Marine insignia, which are often inspired by USMS designs (compare the
USMS line officer sleeve device to the
USMM deck officer, for example).