Background
At the time of their creation of these “ribbon bars,” morale was flagging among merchant seamen due to high numbers of sinkings, long trips, and desperation on the part of the War Shipping Administration for bodies to crew their ships.
Just as the Army and the Navy were awarded ribbons for participation in the various theatres of war – with the promise of a later issuance of a medal – the same was true for merchant seamen. Merchant ships sailed into various war zones, and these were divided neatly into Atlantic, Mediterranean-Middle East, and Pacific along with complementing ribbons. Unlike the military’s ribbons, the Merchant Marine war zone bars did not bear any appurtenances.
Below, find the legislation responsible for the creation of the ribbon bars followed by a brief description of each. Unlike the set precedence of military ribbons, the Merchant Marine awards were worn in the chronological order in which they were earned. At the time of their creation, they had no corresponding medal; this changed in 1992.
Each war zone ribbon bar was authorized by Public Law 52 of the 78th Congress; curiously enough, the original start date for qualification was 3 September 1939, however, this was struck on the day of passing of the legislation without argument. This was later remedied by the creation of the Defense Bar – albeit pushing the date of qualification to 8 September 1939 – the day of President Franklin’s declaration of Limited National Emergency. 2 September 1939 was a watershed date as the German U-Boat U-30 sank the SS Athenia, a British-flagged unarmed civilian ship with 28 American casualties; at the time, the world was outraged.
It is worth noting that unlike the campaign ribbons issued to the military, where the period of eligibility ends on 2 March 1946 – the end of the Second World War – the period of eligibility for Merchant Marine War zone ribbons varied. The Atlantic and Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone bars period of eligibility was defined as between 7 December 1941 and 8 November 1945, with the Pacific ending on 2 March 1946. Compounding issues, the Merchant Marine Victory medal’s cut-off date for eligibility is 3 September 1945.
In terms of actual award, merchant seamen were required to petition the War Shipping Administration for War Zone Bars; upon receipt and review of their sailing history, the WSA would then mail the petitioner a cardstock “Award Card” and not the actual ribbon itself; merchant seamen needed to buy their own ribbons. This same tradition held sway at the United States Merchant Marine Academy until at least 2017 – any ribbon award earned by a midshipman must be purchased by the awardee.
Legislation
Law Establishing Merchant Marine Service Emblem, War Zone Medals, Combat Bar and Mariner’s Medal, Service Flag and Service Lapel Button §1(b).
AN ACT
To provide for the issuance of devices in recognition of the services of merchant sailors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Administrator, War Shipping Administration, is hereby authorized to provide and issue (a) a seamen’s service insignia of appropriate design to any person who, at any time during the period (hereinafter referred to as the war period) beginning December 7, 1941, and ending with the termination of the present war, serves on any vessel in the American merchant marine, and (b) a seamen’s war zone insignia or device of appropriate design to any person who, at any time during the war period, serves on any vessel in the American merchant marine while sailing in any war or combat zone.
May 10, 1943 [H. R. 2281] [Public Law 52]
Although the legislation for the award of the war zone bars was published on 10 May 1943, several months passed before the actual notice for the design and qualifications for the awards. This happened on 23 September 1943 and was published in the Federal Register, Vol. 8, 25 September 1943 p. 13070.
Atlantic War Zone Bar
Qualification
The Administrator, War Shipping Administration, was authorized to provide and issue a seaman’s war zone insignia or device of appropriate design to any person who at any time during the war period served aboard any United States Merchant Marine vessel that sailed in the prescribed Atlantic War Zone.
The Atlantic War Zone comprised the North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Barents Sea, and the Greenland Sea.
Description
Designed by the Merchant Marine Awards Committee, the ribbon is silk moiré, ⅜ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide, with a center stripe of crimson, edged with white that gradually blends into light crimson edges. At the time, the ribbon was said to be flame-red, reminiscent of a ship ablaze.
Number Awarded
235,298 Atlantic War Zone Bars were issued for the qualifying period, 7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.
Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Bar
Qualification
The Administrator, War Shipping Administration, was authorized to provide and issue a seaman’s war zone insignia or device of appropriate design to any person who at any time during the war period served aboard any U.S. Merchant Marine vessel that sailed in the prescribed Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone.
The Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone comprised the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean west of the 80th meridian east longitude.
Description
Designed by the Merchant Marine Awards Committee, the ribbon is silk moiré, ⅜ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide, with a narrow center stripe of white flanked by narrow stripes of green flanked by wider bands of yellow with narrow stripes of crimson, white, and navy blue extending to the edges.
Number Awarded
150,184 Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Bars were issued for the qualifying period, 7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.
Pacific War Zone Bar
Qualification
The Administrator, War Shipping Administration, was authorized to provide and issue a seaman’s war zone insignia or device of appropriate design to any person who at any time during the war period served on any vessel of the U.S. Merchant Marine while sailing in the prescribed Pacific War Zone.
The Pacific War Zone comprised the North Pacific, South Pacific, and the Indian Ocean east of the 80th meridian east longitude.
Description
Designed by the Merchant Marine Awards Committee, the ribbon is silk moiré, ⅜ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide, with a center stripe of red flanked by stripes of white and navy blue, the latter bordered by crimson and yellow, which extends to the edges.
Number Awarded
177,926 Pacific War Zone Bars were issued for the qualifying period, 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946.
☆ ☆ ☆
Design Notes
Some War Zone ribbon bars appear in the format ½ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide; this is due to the fact that initial wartime suppliers of Merchant Marine ribbons followed the precedent set by the United States Navy; United States Army ribbons at the time were ⅜ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide. This is due to the fact that there was no set, uniform rule on how ribbons were affixed to uniforms, nor even size. However, beginning in 1944, most manufacturers switched to the Army’s style. By the 1950s, in an effort to standardize ribbon sizes across services, the military settled on ribbons with the format ⅜ inches tall by 1⅜ inches wide. From this point forward, the Navy format was dropped.
The manufacture of War Zone ribbon bars was suspended in 1954; this is due to the cessation of the United States Merchant Marine wartime awards program on 21 December 1953 (18 FR 8730); when ribbon manufacture restarted in 1992, the manufacturer of the new ribbons was unable to replicate the old blending, and the stripes are rendered in stark bands. This manufacturer specification was upheld and codified by the Institute of Heraldry.
