Armed Forces Reserves

Armed Forces Reserve

This stamp was issued on May 21, 1955.

I found one of the uniforms in this picture perplexing.   I know that the individual on the far left is a Marine.   And the individual on the far right is Air Force and the fellow next to the air force is Navy.   And in the middle is Army.   But what about the individual between the Army and the Marine?   Looks like Navy to me.   I went on the internet and researched the stamp and found that it was issued on May 21, 1955 (armed forces day).  I also found out that the individual between the Army and the Marine was the Coast Guard.   Here is a picture of an individual in his Coast Guard uniform.

His name is E. J. Jarvis II and the picture was taken in the spring of 1963.   He was in the Coast Guard and his uniform matches the picture in the stamp perfectly.  

Here is a group picture of some men in their Coast Guard uniforms.

Yep, their uniforms match also.   So now we know the services represented on the stamp: Marines, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force.   But isn't there one service missing?   What about the Merchant Marine?   Would the term United States Maritime Service be more appropriate?   They wore uniforms and a lot of them got killed in World War II when their ships were sunk by U-boats.   Perhaps there isn't a Merchant Marine Reserve like the other five services.    Anyone have any ideas on this?   Have a good day and please post any thoughts that you may have on this in the "comments section".   Lew