In mid-1944 the U.S. Maritime Service published two guides on how to wear its uniforms and insignia – codifying practices once left up to the discretion of the wearer. The first guide was in the form of a pamphlet and was distributed to individuals who graduated from officer upgrade schools, and the second was a spread of two pages in the U.S. Maritime Service magazine, MAST (June 1944). The first guide, along with Joel Bunkley’s 1943 study is often the only cited resource on U.S. Maritime Service officer insignia.
Being that the U.S. Maritime Service was governed to have a rank structure like that of the U.S. Coast Guard, individuals in the Service wore uniforms similar to those of their Coastie comrades. It follows that the array of pins and badges found on USCG uniforms – within reason and context – would have a U.S. Maritime Service version. However, in analyzing the aforementioned guides, both the 1944 officer guide and Bunkley book did not detail garrison cap wear and insignia, whereas the second U.S. Maritime Service publication did.
Below is a gallery of period Second World War U.S. Maritime Service garrison caps and cap badges. These caps and devices were prescribed for wear in less formal settings. The dark blue was for wear with reefers, and the khaki cover for wear with the working khaki uniform. The CPO badge on the cap was almost exclusively worn by USMS Chief Petty Officers and not student enrollees in officer upgrade schools – despite the fact, the latter shared full-size cap badges with former. The USMS over the shield device was authorized for U.S. Maritime Service enlisted employees and disbursed in late 1945 when U.S. Maritime Service went the route of issuing all service members jacket-style uniforms and moved away from U.S. Navy-type jumpers. Within the gallery, of note is the U.S. Maritime Service cadre badge with the screw-post sheared off. This meant it was an early pre-1942 (possibly ersatz) garrison cap badge.
An example of the dark blue garrison cap may be seen in the official photograph of Leonard W. Valentine after his award of the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal.
