The United States Post Office has issued two stamps to commemorate the work of the American Merchant Marine and the U.S. Coast Guard Service during the war. A Liberty ship is shown on the Merchant Marine stamp, but while no particular vessel was intended to be illustrated, it is interesting to know that the design is a composite drawing of two vessels, the John W. Troy and the James Madison.
The histories of these vessels was especially eventful. The John W. Troy was delivered from the yards of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation at Portland in January, 1944. The Alaska Steamship Company, of Seattle, Washington, took her over and operated her for the War Shipping Administration. The only event of note in her career seems to have been a grounding and minor fire which occurred at Tacloban in January, 1945.
The James Madison was built by the Houston Shipbuilding Corporation in January, 1943. She was operated for the War Shipping Administration by the Louisiana shipping firm of Lykes Brothers, New Orleans. An incident of flooding occurred while in the Panama Canal Zone, which damaged some of her cargo. After the war the vessel was placed in the temporary reserve fleet at Suisan Bay, California.
SG936 Sea Breezes 5/47