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

More markers nearby

← All historical markers