Historical Marker · No. 4487
American Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII and Navy Armed Guard
Bluffdale, Salt Lake County · Utah
Erected, 1997
Every bullet, every tank, every ration that crossed an ocean in World War II rode on a merchant ship, and civilian sailors crewed them straight through waters thick with U-boats. They died at a rate rivaling any branch in uniform — roughly one in twenty-six — while Navy Armed Guard gunners stood at the rails trying to fight off what came. And then they were denied veteran status for more than forty years, until a 1988 ruling finally recognized them, too late for most. This monument gives the merchant mariners the standing their country long withheld.
Where it stands
40.43912, -111.93091 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Lehi Roller Mills — 5.4 miThe flour mill from the movie Footloose
- Thanksgiving Point — 8.2 miA massive complex with dinosaur bones, gardens, and a curiosity museum
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument — 12 miThree spectacularly decorated caves connected by hand-carved tunnels
- Bingham Canyon Mine — 13 miThe largest man-made excavation on Earth
More markers nearby
- Canine and Service Animals War Heros Memorial — steps away
- Utah's Medal of Honor Recipients Memorial — steps away
- Address by Abraham Lincoln Memorial — steps away
- United States Army Special Forces Monument — steps away