Bronze Reliefs

U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. Navy Armed Guard—"We deliver.''
 

A nation's merchant ships are an important part of her sea power, especially in time of war when they provide the vital link between the fighting force overseas and the industrial output on the homefront. In both world wars the Merchant Marine/Navy Armed Guard team met the challenge and delivered.

Shown in this bronze relief is a convoy under attack while enroute to Murmansk during World War II; though manned by civilian crews, the ships carried gun crews of Navy gunners: the U. S. Navy Armed Guard. “The run to Murmansk'' was the most direct logistic link between America and the USSR, then struggling for survival against Nazi Germany. The voyage combined all the elements of danger from man and nature alike. Throughout the war, wherever these convoys sailed, the slow, gray ships and brave crews were exposed to attack by dive bombers, surface raiders and submarines. The U. S. Navy Armed Guard contingents formed each ship's only on-board protection against the enemy; the gun crews were often augmented by merchant seamen from the ships' crews. Despite significant opposition by a determined enemy, the teams worked together to deliver the cargoes to our deployed forces.

The sculptor, Robert Lamb, is a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate and a veteran of World War II's Murmansk convoys. This bronze relief was made possible by contributions from the Seafarers International Union, alumni of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the state merchant marine academies, and by veterans of the Merchant Marine, as well as the U.S. Navy Armed Guard Association.