Home or Place of Enlistment: Rigby, Idaho Lost at Sea: April 12, 1942
At 10.20 hours on 11 April 1942, U-154 spotted the unescorted Delvalle (Master Edgar F. Jones) south of Haiti and tried to get into a favorable attack position. The U-boat was spotted by a civilian passenger aircraft off the port quarter of the ship and advised the Delvalle of this discovery, which tried to escape on a nonevasive course at her full speed of 13 knots. At 00.01 hours on 12 April, the submerged U-154 fired two single torpedoes at her but missed as the ship turned towards the U-boat in an attempt to ram it because a lookout had spotted the periscope about 500 yards away.
At 06.57 hours, the Delvalle was finally hit by a spread of two torpedoes on the starboard side almost simultaneously about 15 feet below the waterline and just forward of amidships. The explosions extensively damaged the ship and destroyed the starboard lifeboats. As the vessel rapidly sank, the launching of the other two boats proved difficult because the severe list. She sank 15 minutes after being hit aft by a coup de grâce at 07.09 hours.
The crew of nine officers, 45 men, five passengers and four armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and two .30cal guns) all abandoned ship, with the exception of the ship´s doctor and an able seaman. The boats and rafts stayed together until daybreak, when the motor launch left to reach the coast for help. The launch later reached land at Jacmel, Haiti. The remaining survivors were sighted by a US Navy patrol aircraft the same day and were picked up by HMCS Prince Henry (F 70)
Because the Merchant Marine was not considered a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Purple Heart was not available to Merchant Mariners; as such, the Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 10 May 1943.
Awarded only to members of the United States Merchant Marine, the Mariner’s Medal recognizes seamen who were killed or wounded as a direct result of conflict against an opposing armed force; in specific, it was awarded to any seaman who while serving in a ship during a war period is wounded, suffers physical injury, or suffers through dangerous exposure as a result of an act of enemy of the United States. In the event any such seaman dies from the wounds or injuries before the award can be made to him, the medal may be presented to the person named in the War Risk Policy as his beneficiary. 6,635 Mariner's Medals were awarded for service in the Second World War; all further awards of the Mariner's Medal were suspended on 30 June 1956 and has not been awarded in subsequent U.S. theaters of conflict.
The merchant marine is collectively those non-naval ships that carry cargo or passengers or provide maritime services, and the civilian crewmen and officers who sail those ships. During World War II the ships and men of the United States merchant marine transported across the oceans of the world the vast quantities of war materiel, supplies, equipment, and troops needed to fight and win that war. The men of the U.S. merchant marine were civilian volunteers who nonetheless died proportionally in numbers that rivaled or exceeded any branch of the uniformed military.
On March 13, 2020, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded collectively to the United States Merchant Mariners of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during the war.