Appendix E

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Cadet-Midshipmen Who Died During World War II
Hometown, Year Born, Ship, Action that took their life

The 143 men listed below were cadet/midshipmen who died during World War II while members of the Cadet Corps. All but two of them have their names on the Memorial Monument at Kings Point; Carl Brandler and Kenneth McCauliffe. McAuliffe was a United Fruit Company Cadet; he was not a U.S. Maritime Commission Cadet but is included since he died as a cadet on merchant ship and his form of training was one of the practices before the USMC Cadet training program was established. There is no explanation as to the reason why Carl Brandler’s name is not on the monument.

There were 121 cadet/midshipmen who were killed in direct action against the enemy; 101 died from aerial and submarine torpedo attacks; 16 died from bombing and kamikaze attacks; and four died from German raider and Japanese cruiser shelling.

As with other military organizations, deaths during the war are not all directly caused by enemy actions; the enemy was not the only peril faced by merchant mariners at war. The supply line had to be maintained at all costs, and ships put to sea in all weather and sailed perilously close to each other in tight packed convoys day and night. Ships were prohibited from showing navigation lights, and compelled to zig-zag, changing course as a group in the dark of night, often in heavy seas. Frequent collisions were the inevitable result. Six Cadet/Midshipmen men died in collisions. They were: J. W. Artist, R. J. Derick, D. L. Polcari, D. L. Polcari, J. O. Talbott, and B. H. Wilkenson. Three died when their ships sank in violent storms: they were E. J. Ackerlind, W. B. Carriere and J. L. Driscoll. They all died serving in the line of duty supplying war material to the Allied forces.

Unlike Navy ships, merchant ships carried no medical personnel. Primary treatment was usually provided on board with the aid of a first aid manual and medical treatment was deferred until the first port, often days, and sometimes weeks away. Delayed treatment often exacerbated medical problems. Seven men died of illnesses contracted while on duty on board ship or in training. They were: T. B. Carey, Roy DuChene, A. M. Limehouse, W.E. McCann, R. C. Nolan, B. Schultz, and G. Viridakis.

Ships are dangerous places for the uninitiated in the best of times and, in the rush to man the burgeoning fleet, training was accelerated to a breakneck pace. Much was left to the initiative of the cadets, and some mishaps were inevitable. Four men died in shore based training or shipboard accidents. They were: C. F. Gerstacker, D. A. Kennedy, R. E. Netcott, and J. H. Watson III.

Life goes on, even in war, and death is an inevitable part of life. Three men, D. H. Frohn, O. E. Kern, and H. Quayle died ashore in foreign ports in various accidents not specifically related to their service. None the less, they were serving honorably at the time of their deaths and their names are inscribed on the war memorial.

The age of the cadets who died was generally between the ages of 18 and 24; J. W. Artist was 17 years old. The hometown that is listed is believed to be where they were living at the time they enrolled into the Cadet Corps. Many were born in other states and some even were born in other countries.

The Cadet-Midshipmen came from 29 states and the District of Columbia. The majority of these young men, eighty, were from the Eastern States of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Midwest States of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota each had four or more men who gave their lives to their country—21 in total. Of the other states, five men were from California; fewer in number came from Alabama, Arkansas, DC, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Cadet-Midshipmen Who Died During WWII Hometown, Year Born, Ship, Action that took their life