Alan,

As Rick has mentioned, it was entirely common for Armed Guard sailors to be assigned to multiple ships over time. This was opposite the practice in the fleet (i.e., for those serving on warships rather than on merchant ships, and particularly for enlisted men rather than officers) who often remained on the same ship for extended periods.

According to this page (http://www.usmm.org/battle-a-f.html), SS DASHING WAVE won five battle stars during the following actions and dates:

Dashing Wave
23 Feb 45-9 Mar 45
Iwo Jima operation
Dashing Wave
20 May 43-23 May 43
Consolidation Southern Solomon Islands
Dashing Wave
24 Nov 43- 8 Dec 43
Gilbert Islands operation
Dashing Wave
27 Jun 44- 3 Jul 44
Capture-occupation of Saipan
Dashing Wave
10 Apr 45-22 Apr 45
Assault-occupation of Okinawa Gunto

Likewise, SS MONARCH OF THE SEAS won a battle star; see http://www.usmm.org/battle-g-m.html.

Monarch of the Seas
5 Feb 44-8 Feb 44
Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro

And as far as that goes, SS HIBBING VICTORY actually won two battle stars (http://www.usmm.org/battle-g-m.html) so your father may have been due another from his service on that ship, although the two actions for which battle stars were earned were quite a few months apart:

Hibbing Victory
6 Sept 44-14 Oct 44
Capture-occupation of southern Palau Islands
Hibbing Victory
10 May 45-27 May 45
Assault-occupation of Okinawa Gunto

The same information is available on the same pages to which Rick has directed you (although I can't seem to find references to DASHING WAVE on those pages).

Can you match your father's dates of service aboard these ships against any of the above dates?

In one message, you refer to your father receiving "the bronze star." Keep in mind this is probably not "The" Bronze Star Medal, given for bravery in combat. Rather it is probably something known as a "service star," which is a small bronze star-shaped emblem that denotes that the serviceman has earned a certain award more than once and which is worn on the ribbon of the original award. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_star. So in this case your father's service star, had he received it, would have been worn on the ribbon of one of his campaign medals, either the American Campaign Medal or (more likely) the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. (Among his awards your refer to "Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal (2) Stars," the "(2)" likely meaning the medal was awarded twice and, therefore, that your father was due a bronze service star.) By making this distinction I do not in any way diminish the service of your father and his shipmates.

You may be able to obtain replacement medals for those decorations your father earned. See http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/replacement-medals.html and http://www.ehow.com/how_7351546_request-duplicate-set-army-medals.html.

Best wishes.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com