It takes only a minimal amount of knowledge of warfare and logistics to understand that the U.S. could not have won World War II without the tireless and unceasing contributions of the United States Merchant Marine. Between the “Day of Infamy” and the Japanese surrender on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri, the U.S. merchant fleet grew from 1,340 tankers and dry cargo ships to 4,221; by 1945, the average delivery rate was an astonishing 17 million pounds every hour.
Over 7 million personnel were transported by the Merchant Marine during World War II, in addition to the transportation items they would need once they arrived in a theater of operations. Here again, the number of vehicles the Merchant Marine helped supply to U.S. and Allied troops is immense. In 1944, for instance, the Merchant Marine delivered over 2700 planes, nearly 1,000 (993) boats, 296 amphibious craft, and over 1220 vehicles as deck cargo—from the West Coast alone.
General Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of U.S. operations in the Pacific, understood the key role that the Merchant Marine played in ultimate victory when he said, “The high caliber of efficiency and the courage they displayed mark their conduct throughout the entire campaign in the Southwest Pacific area. I hold no branch in higher esteem than the Merchant Marine.”