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Donald Saxer Maritime Service collection, 1937-2002

 

Summary

Creator:
Saxer, Donald
Abstract:
Materials are related to the United States Maritime Service (USMS) training station in Bayboro Harbor, St. Petersburg, Florida and it was collected by staff member and officer Donald Saxer.
Extent:
2 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Donald Saxer Maritime Service collection, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

Materials include the newspaper clippings, photographs, pamphlets, and ephemera collected by Donald Saxer. There are three oversize photographs (two framed, one without a frame). Inclusive dates are from 1937 to 2002, with specifically 1941 to 1950 for photographs and 1964 to 1979 for clippings.

Biographical / historical:

In November 1939, two training ships entered Tampa Bay and moored at the U.S. Coast Guard base along Bayboro Harbor. This event marked the beginning of the United States Maritime Service Training Station (USMSTS) in St. Petersburg, Florida. From late 1939 until 1941, the Maritime Service ships resided at the Coast Guard base while construction of the training station took place. Dedicated in July 1941, the USMSTS became an active training center during the war years. Until decommissioned in early 1950, this site served as one of the largest training facilities for the Merchant Marine along the southern coast of the United States. Thousands of Maritime Service graduates who had trained on ships such as the Joseph Conrad, Tusitala, Vigil, American Seaman, and American Sailor later carried supplies to armed forces during the Second World War and played other essential roles in supporting convoys and protecting shipments.

Mariners had served with honor since the earliest days of the United States, with privateers and merchant marines assisting the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. During times of war and peace, these sailors transported cargo, guarded shipments, and assisted members of the Armed Forces with logistical operations. The United States Congress authorized the creation of a United States Maritime Service through the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. Two years later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the U.S. Maritime Service (USMS) in an effort to prepare for possible wartime hostilities.

Approximately 25,000 young adults trained at the Bayboro Harbor facility between early 1940 and 31 March 1950. Many young men between the ages of 17½ and 35 arrived during America's involvement in the Second World War. Along with waves of over 120,000 U.S. Army Air Corps recruits and other service personnel, the USMS trainees stayed at hotels such as the Soreno and Vinoy, as well as in the barracks that later became part of USF St. Petersburg ('B' building) until demolished in March 1992. Cadets faced a rigorous five-week preliminary training session to test their aptitude in seamanship and boat operations. USMS trainees took classes at the station (including swimming and endurance tests in the pool), in outdoor facilities near the present-day site of the Bayfront Center, and on the ships docked along the harbor. After the initial training session, the merchant mariners continued their studies in areas such as practical ship training (on the deck, in the engine room, as a steward, etc.) and advanced navigational techniques. A Cooks and Bakers School also began in December 1942.

Donald Saxer, a cadet who trained at the facility in 1943 and later joined the staff, collected many of the items in the Saxer/USMSTS, Bayboro Harbor, Collection. Rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer, Saxer became an important leader at Bayboro Harbor. After the station closed in 1950, Saxer remained as part of the staff that managed the facilities until the City of St. Petersburg took control of the site in the mid-1950s.

Acquisition information:

Donald Saxer donated these materials to the Special Collections and Archives Department of the USF St. Petersburg library in October 2001.

Some items in this collection were originally gathered by H.F. Kuether, another Maritime Service member who later worked closely with Saxer on issues related to the USMS and veterans of the organization. This collection also includes correspondence and clippings documenting attempts by Saxer and Kuether to gain full service recognition for USMS veterans who fought during the Second World War.

Access and use

Terms of access:

None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Donald Saxer Maritime Service collection, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Location of this collection:
140 7th Avenue South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
USA