Growth of American Merchant Marine. The chart (upper left) shows the growth in manpower of the U.S.

Growth of American Merchant Marine. The chart (upper left) shows the growth in manpower of the U.S. Merchant Marine, which is manned entirely by volunteers. Merchant Marine ships take tanks, guns, planes and every type of cargo over every ocean to every battlefront. Note the doubled number of officers and seamen to be available in the fiscal year 1946 (July1, 1945-June 30, 1946) as compared to fiscal 1943. Most of these men came from training schools of the U.S. Maritime Service, which - since Japan struck at Pearl Habor December 7, 1941 - have trained 23,829 officers, 4,256 radio operators, 104,069 unlicensed seamen in all ratings, 4,073 assistant purser-hospital corpsmen, and 3,780 specialists and upgraded 24,610 men. Aboard this vessel, seaen secure a small boat.