National Maritime Day

In the United States, National Maritime Day is held every May 22 to honor people who have served in the United States Merchant Marine service.

The first National Maritime Day was May 22, 1933, based on a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress on May 20, 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to issue a proclamation about the day.

The biggest National Maritime Day celebration was in 1946, the first National Maritime Day after the Allied Powers won World War II. That year, governors of many U.S. states also officially named the day National Maritime Day or Maritime Day for their state. The first National Maritime Day after the end of the Korean War, in 1954, was also more widely celebrated than most.

In the 2006 annual proclamation by president George W. Bush, he made special mention of the Merchant Marine service's hurricane aid work following Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

References

• Joint Resolution of Congress text Archived 2006-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
• List of 1946 state and city proclamations Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
• Text of Bush proclamation