U.S. Navy Armed Guard - Convoy Personnel assigned to merchant ships, WWI

The U.S. Navy Armed Guard was a service branch of the United States Navy that was responsible for defending U.S. and Allied merchant ships from attack by enemy aircraft, submarines and surface ships during World War II.
The origins of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard date to World War I, during which some 384 U.S. merchant vessels carried guns and Navy personnel. This earlier version of the Armed Guard was disbanded following World War I.