Posted by carole vogt on October 28, 2010, 7:32 pm
I would like to find out more about my father-unit, ship(s), etc.-and his service time spent in the merchant marines during world warII
Re: anthony j. desiderio
Posted by Ron Carlson on October 29, 2010, 8:30 am, in reply to "anthony j. desiderio"
Dear Carole,
As next of kin, you should be able to obtain information about your father's seagoing career by contacting the U.S. Coast Guard. Please see this page from the Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website about obtaining military service records: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html. In particular, see section A.2. Records of Individuals - Merchant Marine. You will have to contact the U.S. Coast Guard's National Maritime Center to request a copy of your father's service record. The Coast Guard was and is responsible for providing documentation for U.S. merchant mariners, which may include the ships in which a mariner served and the applicable dates. You will have to provide as much identifying information as you have available, such as name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, and Z or service number. (The service number or "Z number" is a serial number that appears on a merchant mariner's identification card; it begins with the letter Z, hence the name. Of course this number may not be available to you.)
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website www.armed-guard.com
Thank you so very much for such a prompt reply. Being 64 myself now. I'm trying to learn as much as possible about my father's past, since he died in 1986. I will follow through and make the contacts you gave me.