Question: Award of Merit---Ships for Victory

[jamespowers]

I was rumaging around in some of my grandmother's stuff today and found something interesting. I have no idea what it is or what it was for but I bet someone here can tell me what it is. Take a look:

Regards to all,

J

 

[db5zx]

Hi!

I can't tell you exactly what it was for, the only thing I know is that it is not from the US Navy, but from the Merchant Marine... But I'll try to find out more...

...Jens

 

[renor27]

Have seen a few of those on Ebay

The pin looks to me to be one that would have been given to workers @ the home front ship yards durning the war. Have seen a few on Ebay have even see ones that list the ship yard on then.
David

 

[jamespowers]

I find it interesting that my grandmother even had it. Considering that she spend forty years in the canned goods industry and even worked for Gerbers. My grandfather was an iron worker so maybe that is how it got into her hands. At 93 now, she doesn't remember where she got it.

Regards to all,

J

 

[MikeyB17]

Yes, I agree with David,

That's a merit award of some sort associated with the US Maritime Commission, the organisation which built the Liberty and Victory ships. A quick Google search has revealed that V-shaped eagle device several times on a number of websites about the Liberty ship programme. We have a number of sunken liberty ships in our waters, and I've dived on 3 of them-they were big ships and are very impressive underwater-the most famous is the 'James Egan Layne' in Whitsand Bay near Plymouth-probably the most heavily dived wreck in the British Isles, if not the World.