Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
....... I sought out two WW2 Merchant Marine sailors in the Veterans Home at King,WI. One crewed a Liberty Ship crossing the Atlantic and the other an Oiler in the Pacific. When I asked if they were issued firearms, both said no.... only the US Navy Armed Guards were issued firearms. Their weapons were kept secured in lockers and broken out only if needed. The guy that worked the Atlantic said that the Armed Guard always wore their .45 acp pistols when scrambling to their gun stations,............
This is interesting. Just a little while ago I finished reading "Navy Gun Crew" by Lt. John F. Childs, USNR, who served on merchant ships on convoy duty on the Atlantic routes and wrote this little book in 1944 (it's available for Kindle from Amazon for 1.99; highly recommended). He specifically discusses the two Navy men who were issued .38 revolvers in port only for guard duty, and had to turn them back in once the ship left the harbor. I wonder whether the practice changed later in the war.