USN AG Centers and Schools
Covers should be listed in chronological order. Use the postmark date or best guess.
USN Armed Guard History
During World War I, the Navy saw the need to place armament aboard merchant ships for self protection and the need to train men to handle the guns. These men became known as the Armed Guard. During 1917-1918, the Navy furnished 30,000 men to the Armed Guard. These men would serve on 384 ships, 42 of which were lost, 36 to enemy action. A total of 58 Armed Guards were lost during this period.
In 1941 the need for self protection arose again and the Navy began working with the Maritime Commission to work out how to arm and man the defensive weapons on merchant ships. The Maritime Commission had responsibility to install defense items provided by the Navy and the Navy would then man those weapons. On April 15, 1941, the Armed Guard Service was once again officially formed as a force. On September 17, 1941, a camp for Armed Guard gun training was created at Little Creek, Virginia. After the repeal on November 17, 1941 of Section 6 of the Neutrality Act, which prevented arming merchant ships, work began and by months end, 55 American owned ships had been armed with Armed Guards.(1)
All totaled, the USN Armed Guards who served in World War II numbered 144,970 men. Of that number, 1,810 were killed in action. In contrast, the Merchant Marines had over 350,000 men serving during World War II with over 8,765 men killed in action.(2)
(1) USCS LOG - March 2009. "US Navy Armed Guard Service and Cover Collecting" By Steve Shay
(2) The Pointer - Oct 2008-Jan 2009. Manpower numbers courtesy of the USN Armed Guard WWII Veterans Association magazine, Charles Lloyd, Editor. Armed Guard Veterans Website - [1]
| Thumbnail Link To Cachet Close-Up Image | Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Front Image | Thumbnail Link To Postmark or Back Image | Primary Date Postmark Type Killer Bar Text --------- Cachet Category |
|---|
World War I - USN Armed Guard
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
c 1918-19 |
|
Armed Guard Series, No. 6 |
World War I era postcard for the USN Armed Guard
World War II - Armed Guard Center, Brooklyn NY
 |
 |
 |
C 1942 |
|
AG Center Brooklyn NY |
Center's Handstamp, Logo and Matchbook cover
|
N/A |
 |
 |
1942-11-21 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from the Morale Office
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1943-01-26 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - A. V. Corder
World War II - Armed Guard Center, New Orleans LA
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
c 1942 |
|
Center Logo |
Logo courtesy of USN Armed Guard WWII Veterans Association.
 |
 |
 |
1942-12-15 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - Richard Y. Duran, Navy Mail Clerk on a patriotic cover from Jacques Minkus
World War II - Armed Guard Center, Treasure Island CA
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
c 1942 |
|
Center Logo |
Logo courtesy of USN Armed Guard WWII Veterans Association.
|
N/A |
 |
 |
1943-05-26 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - W. C. Healy, Shipfitter Third Class
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1943-10-01 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - George Blair Barber, Seaman Second Class
|
N/A |
 |
 |
1945-06-14 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover and letter from - Francis Maguire, Seaman First Class
World War II - Armed Guard School, Gulfport MS
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1943-02-16 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - USS Dover IX-30 (ex USS Wilmington PG-8)
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1944-07-11 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - USCGC Monomoy WAG-275 (ex USS Monomoy AG-40)
World War II - Armed Guard School, Little Creek VA (later Camp Shelton VA)
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1944-07-24 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - Lt.(j.g.) H. Mickelson, USNR
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1944-04-12 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - USS Paducah PG-18, support ship at Little Creek VA and was used to trained Naval Armed Guard gunners in Chesapeake Bay, thus giving vital service to the Merchant Marine’s crucial World War II assignment.
World War II - Armed Guard School, San Diego CA
|
N/A |
 |
N/A |
1943-02-02 |
|
Outgoing Mail |
Cover from - James A. Jaeger, Seaman First Class
If you have images to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add them. See Editing Other U.S. Navy Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum