Merchant Marine: First to Go
The first American victim of Axis aggression was the SS City of Flint, captured by a Nazi battleship in October 1939. The first U.S. ship sunk was the MS City of Rayville, which hit a German mine in November 1940, killing one mariner. The toll of men killed grew to 243 before Pearl Harbor. Mariners were among the first U.S. Prisoners of War, and many were held by both the Germans and the Japanese.
Highest Casualty Rate
President Roosevelt said mariners were “fighting side by side with our Army and Navy.” Mariners were at the front the moment they left port, subject to attack by submarine, surface raider, mines, bombers, kamikaze, and land-based artillery. Each was assigned a battle station and manned guns or passed ammunition during battle. About 9,300 mariners were killed and 12,000 wounded. Mariners suffered the highest casualty rate of any service during World War II, with 1 in 26 killed. Over 1,500 ships were sunk, with 1 in 8 mariners losing their lives. Casualties were kept secret during the war to avoid providing information to the enemy and to keep mariners at sea.
Connecticut lost 67 Merchant Mariners in World War II. The average age was 33.3 years old. The youngest (Sullivan) was 18.5 years old, and the oldest (Muirhead) was 61.4 years old. Thirty of the 67 were married. These are their stories.
We can never forget.
For a PDF document with data about these heroes, click HERE.
For a PDF document with all of the biographies, click HERE.
BIOGRAPHY SECTION
Click on a name to be taken to a page with their bio.
Scroll down to click on a name and be taken to a page with a short bio about that person. The links directly below are shortcuts to the groups of last names starting with those letters.
A-D
| RADIO OFFICER EDWIN WALLACE ARDZIENSKI Bristol | ORDINARY SEAMAN JOHN FRANCIS BAGDONAS New Britain |
| 3RD MATE HOLMAN STEVENSON BELL Putnam | RADIO OFFICER MURRAY MORRIS BLUM West Haven |
| OILER RUDOLPH EDWARD BROEDLIN Bridgeport | 1ST ENGINEER JAMES ALBERT BUTTS Darien |
| JR 3RD ENGINEER OTTO CERABONE Bridgeport | DECK CADET DENNISTON CHARLTON, JR. West Haven |
| MATE CLETUS ARTHUR CHILCOTE New London | BOSUN PATRICK DANIEL COLEMAN Waterbury |
| ABLE SEAMAN THOMAS CUSHMAN COLLINS Glastonbury | JR 3RD MATE HARRY ALLEN COOKE Unknown |
| 1ST ENGINEER JOSEPH MICHAEL COOPER West Haven | CHIEF MATE RICHARD TERENCE CROSSMAN Greenwich |
| MESSMAN JOSEPH ERNEST DUBOIS New Haven | MASTER FRANCIS WALLACE DULAC New Haven |
E-K
| 2ND MATE WENDELL HORTON FIFIELD Saybrook | DECK ENGINEER STANLEY FLANDERS Bristol |
| FIREMAN ROBERT ERNEST FRANCIS GABOURY Groton | ABLE SEAMAN EUGENE JOSEPH GORMAN Groton |
| ENGINE CADET JAY ARTHUR HAMMERSHOY Stamford | GALLEYMAN JOHN WILLIAM HASTINGS New Haven |
| STEWARD ALBURN JEFFERSON HINKLE New London | ORDINARY SEAMAN DONALD HARVEY HOLLAND Hartford |
| WIPER ROMAN JANCZYK Putnam | OILER HAROLD SILAS JORDAN Rocky Hill |
| DECK ENGINEER HENRY KACINSKI New Haven | OILER EMIL JOHN KATRENICK Danbury |
| OILER JOHN KERTENIS Hartford | 3RD MATE CHARLES WILLIAM KIBBIT Warehouse Point (East Windsor) |
| FIREMAN/WATERTENDER ALBERT BERT KLINGA Bridgeport | ABLE SEAMAN FRANK KRAJEWSKI Norwich |
L-P
| CHIEF ENGINEER JOSEPH FRANCIS LAFO West Haven | CHIEF ENGINEER ROBERT HENRY LARKIN New London |
| CHIEF MATE EINAR HJORTSO LARSEN Hartford | DECK CADET LEROY PINNEO LAWRENCE Hartford |
| ENGINE CADET WILLIAM RUTHERFORD LINDE Hartford | DECKHAND JOHN JOSEPH LOGIOCO New London |
| FIREMAN/WATERTENDER FRANK WESLEY LYNCH East Hartford | DECK ENGINEER LEO LOUIS MARCHESSEAULT Killingly |
| WIPER JOHN J. MCLEOD Bridgeport | 1ST ENGINEER LLOYD JAMES MILLER Sterling |
| MESSMAN LOUIS JOSEPH MISINONILE Bridgeport | 1ST ENGINEER THOMAS MUIRHEAD, JR. Bridgeport |
| ABLE SEAMAN WILLIAM PATRICK NORRIS Bridgeport | COOK WILLIAM ALBERT NOVACK Hartford |
| ABLE SEAMAN ALEXANDER PANKO North Branford | WIPER CLARENCE FOSTER PECK Greenwich |
| COOK WILLIAM WALTER POPE Versailles | 3RD ENGINEER JOSEPH EPHRAM PROVENCAL Danielson |
R-Z
| CHIEF MATE LOUIS EUGENE RAYNER New Canaan | DECKHAND HARRY NELSON REEVES New London |
| FIREMAN NICHOLAS NELSON ROBINSON Niantic | MASTER MEINHARD SCHERF Ridgefield |
| 2ND ENGINEER OTTO JULIUS SCHON Westville | BOSUN ALBION KINGPARIS SHAW Danbury |
| ENGINE CADET JONATHAN FORD STURGES Fairfield | MESSMAN EDWARD MARTIN SULLIVAN West Haven |
| 3RD ENGINEER ERIC CONRAD SWANSON East Hartford | ORDINARY SEAMAN WILLIAM STEPHEN SZPARKOWSKI New Britain |
| ABLE SEAMAN EDWARD JOSEPH TARKA New Haven | COOK LEON HENRY THOMAS New Haven |
| PURSER JOHN LYNN THURMOND New London | ABLE SEAMAN JOSEPH PAUL TIRIOLO Greenwich |
| MESSMAN CLIFFORD BOERUM TWISS Devon | FIREMAN/WATERTENDER STANLEY JOSEPH WETART Manchester |
| MASTER CHAUNCEY HOMER WILLIAMS Bridgeport |
