Naval Armed Guard

[bayonetbrant]

https://news-yahoo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/meet-americas-forgotten-navy-world-000000511.html

They have been called “the other Navy,” the “Navy’s stepchildren,” and perhaps most fittingly, “the forgotten Navy.” Officially, however, they were the Naval Armed Guard or more simply the Armed Guard (AG). Often mistaken for members of the Merchant Marine, the Armed Guard was a special branch of the U.S. Navy assigned to defend merchant ships against enemy attack. Its history is one of the most dramatic of World War II, fraught with danger, suffering, heroism, and staggering casualty rates. Yet, as one veteran wrote, “The Armed Guard hasn’t had as much publicity as the average two-headed calf gets.”

Formed in World War I, when German U-boats first prowled the Atlantic, the Armed Guard proved its worth protecting merchant ships. From U.S. involvement in 1917 until the Great War ended, U-boats attacked 227 American merchant ships. The AG repulsed 191 of these attacks, with a loss of only 36 ships. Perhaps most remarkable, throughout the war not a single American troopship guarded by the AG was lost to U-boats. Even with this extraordinary record, when the war ended, so did the need to arm merchant ships; and the Navy deactivated the Armed Guard.

More at the link

[Tolstoi]

I guess I'm like most people. I had never heard of the Armed Guard. Interesting. A quick check with the library found this book:

Unsung sailors : the Naval Armed Guard in World War II
Justin F. Gleichauf
Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press ; ©1990

Another book to add to the "to be read" pile 

 The link you provided took me to a 404 error. This URL worked for me: https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/meet-americas-forgotten-navy-world-000000511.html