How do I find the family of a merchant marine that died in WW2?

Question

I found a bomber jacket with the marines name on it and would like to return it to the family. JB Britt is the name, I even have a book listing him as deceased in the war, his friend Wallace N Tiffany had it and he is also deceased.

History Hub Info · Answer

Hello Traci McLeod 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 To begin your research, we recommend requesting his service records. The Merchant Marine Personnel and Licensing Records dated before 1968 in the Records of the U.S. Coast Guard (Record Group 26) are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RRPO). 
 Please contact RRPO via email at stl.archives@nara.gov. Include the name, date of birth, dates of service, "Z" number, and date of death, if known, in your email. If you do not know all of these things, please include as much information as you can, however the more information you can provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. 
 Persons requesting Merchant Marine personnel service jackets from 1968 to the present should submit a Records Request Form to the USCG-National Maritime Center (NMC-421), ATTN: Correspondence Section, 100 Forbes Drive, Martinsburg, WV 25404. Please include name, date of birth, copy of death certificate if deceased, Social Security number, address, and Z or Service number. You may also send it electronically to OSC-SMB-NMC-4-Correspondence@uscg.mil . 
 We hope this assists you with your research!