Found: Dad's US Merchant Mariner's Document

Wishful

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Just found my Dad's Mariner's Document issued to him by the Coast Guard in NY Harbor , May, 1946. Under the heading Z or BX #, his # is Z-765620. Can anyone please tell me what it means? On the rear, it is stamped "Ordinary Seaman."
He attended a Merchant Marine school in New Orleans when he was 15 (forged his Baptism Certificate). I asked him once what New Orleans was like in those days. The only thing he would divulge was that the doctor's office waiting room had a slot machine in it! He worked on barges in Tokyo Harbor dumping captured Japanese small arms into the sea. Registered for the draft (for Korea) in Hawaii before it was a state. Thanks
 
Just found my Dad's Mariner's Document issued to him by the Coast Guard in NY Harbor , May, 1946. Under the heading Z or BX #, his # is Z-765620. Can anyone please tell me what it means? On the rear, it is stamped "Ordinary Seaman."
He attended a Merchant Marine school in New Orleans when he was 15 (forged his Baptism Certificate). I asked him once what New Orleans was like in those days. The only thing he would divulge was that the doctor's office waiting room had a slot machine in it! He worked on barges in Tokyo Harbor dumping captured Japanese small arms into the sea. Registered for the draft (for Korea) in Hawaii before it was a state. Thanks

Well 'Ordinary Seaman' is the entry rating for unlicensed deck department. The Z number is just his identification number. In later years your Z number was your Social Security number. I think, although I'm not 100% sure, if he had had a BX# he would have also been issued a 'continuous discharge' book [back then known as a Copeland Book] in addition to his Z-card.
 
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