A researcher at heart, Marcie Sextro bases her historical fiction off of first-person accounts of the US Merchant Mariners. She has interviewed several civilian veterans of the force and collects sailors' journals.

A Brief History of the US Merchant Mariners

Merchant Mariners date back to an unofficial beginning in 1775 when the Continental Congress issued Letters of Marquees to privateers to disrupt the British Navy's supply chain. 

Officially, President Roosevelt, after using U.S. private ships to help Britain's depleted Royal Navy haul supplies before we ever entered WWII, saw the need for Merchant Mariners. He passed the Merchant Marine Act in 1936 and called upon private shipbuilders to build hundreds of "Liberty Ships" while calling upon the nation to man the new vessels.

Roosevelt's call was answered, and to this day, Merchant Mariners provide a steady supply chain between nations and within the U.S. 

Learn More About the Merchant Mariners

Marcie recommends...

• "Woody, Cisco & Me" was the first book I read about the WWII MM and the adventures of Woody Guthre, Cisco Houston and author, Jim Longhi brought the world of the Mariner to life. 
• "A Cold Corner of Hell" by Robert Carse is full of data on the Murmansk convoys that were vital to winning the war.