The Fourth Arm · Episode 4 of 11 · 20 min
As West Point Serves the Army: The Making of Kings Point
As World War II loomed, the country built a national academy for its merchant officers at Kings Point. The episode covers the 1936 Merchant Marine Act, Franklin Roosevelt's 1943 dedication declaring the academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy, and wartime training that sent cadets to sea after only months ashore.
Who's who
- Franklin D. Roosevelt+28 more episodesPresident who dedicated the Academy in September 1943
- Walter P. ChryslerAutomaker whose Kings Point estate became the campus core
Where it happens
- Kings Point, New York+3 more episodesLong Island site of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
- San Mateo, CaliforniaWartime Basic School site
- Pass Christian, MississippiWartime Basic School site
Timeline
- 1936Merchant Marine Act authorizes federal involvement in maritime training
- 1938U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps established
- Early 1942Permanent site acquired at Kings Point and construction begins
- September 1943Roosevelt dedicates the Academy
- August 1945Four-year program restored as wartime compression ends
- 1974First federal service academy to admit women
Still debated
Sources give the wartime course as 24 months or about 18 months, likely reflecting planned versus actual timing. The popular claim that a captain's letter was required for advancement is unverified, and casualty and graduate figures are the academy's own counts.
← PreviousWhen School Was a Ship: The Maritime AcademiesNext →142 Died as Students: The WWII Cadet Double-Standard
Connected episodes in other series
The Web of Steel: America at Peak RailWho Tore Up the Tracks? · Episode 1Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Good War's Fine Print: The WWII Draft's Forgotten LosersGreeting: America and the Draft · Episode 5Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
A Town the War Built: Marin City's Long Fight to IntegrateLiberty Ships, Closed Doors · Episode 1Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt
How the CCC Secretly Rehearsed World War IIRoosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 3Also features Franklin D. Roosevelt