Lieutenant Commander Nelson earned the Armed Forces Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. Photographed 17 March 1944. After earning a bachelor of arts in history from Indiana University and a master of arts degree from Howard University, Martin enlisted in the U.S. U.S. He enjoyed fishing and writing poetry and he attended the First Assembly of God church. Lewis “Mummy” Williams . That same year on 11 November 1946, he left the active duty service. Because his off-the-rack uniform needed no alterations, he became the first African-American to wear a naval officer’s uniform. He remained there until February 1945, after which he had duty as division officer/battalion commander at the U.S. Earning a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1948, Cooper continued on as an educator, working again at Wilberforce University as well as Antioch College. He was released from active duty service on 25 November 1945, but continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until his retirement as a lieutenant commander on 1 July 1964. The other three members of the class were returned to the enlisted corps, with no reasons given. Afterwards, Lieutenant (junior grade) Hair served as the first lieutenant on board the landing ship tank LST-1026, which operated in the Far East until mid-July 1946. In fact, their marks were so outstanding that some in Washington were certain that the men had cheated. Twelve years later, Martin was honorably discharged from the USNR on 21 April 1959. Despite the fact all sixteen had passed the course, the Navy still wished to only commission 12, or seventy-five percent, as officers. He was released from active duty on 22 February 1946. Naval Reserve on 7 July 1942, and was trained as a motor machinist’s mate. Diversity is one of the greatest features Houston takes pride of, and Fondren Middle School takes it a step forward, creating a dialogue and a … Then, having been promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), USNR, on 1 July 1945, he deployed to the Naval Supply Base, Okinawa, with that company where he served as the unit’s operations and division officer (August-November 1945), then served as the base’s welfare and recreation officer (November 1945) before returning to the United States. Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. 863-465-9997. After attaining the rank of lieutenant commander in June 1953, Nelson went on to serve as public information officer at Naval Training Center, San Diego, from December 1963; at Headquarters, Third District, from March 1956; and Armed Forces Radio and Television Service from July 1959. Prepared by: Mr. Robert Cressman, Fleet History Support Team; Mr. Jeremiah Foster, Fleet History Support Team; Mr. Chris Havern, Fleet History Support Team; Dr. Anna Holloway, Fleet History Support Team; Mr. Kevin Hurst, Fleet History Support Team; Mr. Chris Martin, Fleet History Support Team; Dr. John Sherwood, Fleet History Support Team, The Golden Thirteen, the first African-American U.S. Navy Officers. One of the ways the Golden Thirteen overcame systemic racism and earned their commissions was by working together as a team. He enlisted in the U.S. In July 1948 President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which abolished discrimination in the Armed Forces “on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin” and eventually led to the end of segregation in the military services. Naval Reserve in October 1942 was assistant physical education director at North Carolina State College, in Durham. The oldest surviving member of the “Golden Thirteen,” Sublett died at the age of 86 and was buried at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, Holcombe, Chippewa County, Wisconsin. At an early age, Sublett’s family moved to Illinois, where he attended grade school. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. After the U.S. entered World War II, Barnes enlisted as an apprentice seaman in the U.S. Promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), as of 1 July 1945, he was eventually assigned to the U.S. Naval Reserve in St. Louis, Missouri, and received his recruit training at the Naval Training Station, Great Lake, Illinois, receiving advancement to seaman second class (19 September 1942) and coxswain (1 March 1943), before being appointed boatswain (24 February 1944). He also served on the executive committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the first black person to hold a place on that board. Lewis Pollard Jr., of Lake Placid, Florida, went to be with his Lord early Sunday morning, Jan. 31, 2021. Though lights out was at 2230 each night, the group placed blankets over their windows and studied together by flashlight, each man bringing his expertise to help strengthen the skills and knowledge of the others. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. He was survived by two sons and his ex-wife Mary Hall. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of American Indians to the U.S. Navy, Naval Service of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Personnel, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies. Famous November birthdays including Avani Gregg, Baby Ariel, Colleen Ballinger, Kendall Jenner, RiceGum and many more When the group was forced to retake certain exams, they scored even higher, with an average grade of 3.89 out of 4–the highest average of any class in Navy history at the time. Naval Academy. Thereafter, he served as a public information officer at Great Lakes and at the Navy Office of Public Information, in Washington, D.C. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Three months prior, Nelson submitted a report entitled The Integration of the Negro into the U.S. Navy that eventually was published as a book in 1951. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. He later went on to complete three years of college, beginning his studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and then transferring to George Williams College, Chicago, Illinois. Low 68F. An alumnus of Dunbar High School and Howard University, he was employed by the Children’s Aid Society of New York (1930-1940), where he served as physical director and club worker (1930-1933) before becoming director of the Boys Division in the Harlem Children's Center. He merited promotion in rate as follows: fireman third class, March 1943; shipfitter third class, August 1943; coxswain, November 1943; and boatswain mate first class in January 1944. From May-September 1945, Barnes worked at the Naval Training and Distribution Center, Camp Peary, Williamsburg, Virginia, before shipping off to the Pacific to serve as division officer of Logistic Support Company #64. Despite being a valued member of the base community, neither Barnes nor any other Golden Thirteen member was permitted to enter the officers’ club because of their race. Naval Reserve on 1 March 1944. He underwent basic training at Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois, and advanced to seaman second class on 25 September 1942. He graduated from high school in Cotton Plant, then studied for three years at the Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College, Pine Bluff, Arkansas. According to oral histories conducted with members of the Golden Thirteen, Pinkney had worked in the labor movement in Atlanta before the war. Naval Barracks #1, Naval Supply Depot, Guam, Marianas Islands. Naval Barracks, Manana, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Post-war, Williams engaged in social work. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on 19 February 1931 to serve with the 428th Infantry. At the time of his enlistment in the U.S. Lewis has been a lifelong Lake Placid resident and was born in Sebring, Florida on Sept. 1, 1926. Born in Oberlin, Ohio, on 25 January 1915, Samuel Edward Barnes attended Oberlin High School and matriculated to Oberlin College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1939. Despite passing his exams, Williams was among the three not chosen to receive a commission. [1] The Naval Institute Barnes biography says he graduated in 1936 but his official Navy biography says 1939. Advanced to lieutenant (junior grade), effective 1 August 1945, he was assigned to U.S. Naval Reserve and after recruit training followed by an officer training course at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, was commissioned as a reserve ensign in February 1944. He continued to work, however, as a concessionaire at the Dayton International Airport, creating a successful business with multiple storefronts. In 1947, White wrote to Wesley Brown, the first African-American to graduate from the Naval Academy, that he “strove for a standard of conduct and performance” every day he wore the uniform, so as not to “prejudice the chances of the Negro we hoped the Academy would one day graduate.” After leaving naval service, White continued to distinguish himself as a federal prosecutor, a judge with the Cook County Circuit Court, and a justice with the Illinois Appellate Court. Photographed 17 March 1944. Husband of Doris "Dot" Anderson. On 25 March 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after a 5-day, 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) had been campaigning for voting rights. Courtesy of Surface Warfare Magazine, 1982. Lewis has been a lifelong Lake Placid resident and was born in Sebring, Florida on Sept. 1, 1926. In October 1947, then-Lieutenant Nelson assumed temporary duty in the Press Section, Division of Public Information, and continued to work in public affairs until his retirement from the Navy on 1 July 1963. Mary Geiger Lewis is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.She joined the court in 2012 after a nomination from President Barack Obama.. Reagan’s son, John Walter Reagan, Jr., born on 25 March 1946, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was killed in action on 22 July 1966 in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, while serving as a corporal in I Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force. He also later worked as a planner for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and formed his own architectural engineering firm. Jesse Walter Arbor was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, on 26 December 1914. Williams attended the University of Chicago, and was a union organizer for railroad redcaps before the war. In 1938, he graduated from a two-year program at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, and then a short time later, earned a bachelor’s degree at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was honorably discharged from the Naval Reserve on 15 October 1954. William Sylvester White, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, drilled the group on Navy regulations. With his studies completed, Hair enlisted in the U.S. Upon learning that their officer candidate course had been reduced from sixteen to eight weeks, the group took it upon themselves to study and tutor each other after lights out in their barracks. After leaving the service, Sublett worked for several years as a service manager for a Buick dealership in the Chicago Metro area and then later became a professional model. He became division officer of Logistic Support Company 69, Advanced Base Supply Training Command, Camp Peary, Willamsburg, Virginia, in June 1945. In that role, Martin served on board the yard patrol craft YP-131. However, according to oral histories conducted with members of the Golden Thirteen, Alves became the first African American chief specialist in the Naval Reserve and adjutant of the Twenty-Ninth Battalion at Camp Robert Smalls, Great Lakes Training Center, Illinois. (80-G-300215), Ensign Frank E. Sublett, USNR. Detached from that vessel in February 1945, he trained at the Naval Ammunition Depot, Hingham, Massachusetts, before assignment to the Naval Ammunition Depot, Fort Mifflin, PA (April-July 1945). Williams earned the nickname “Mummy” as a child, after a grammar school book report he had done on King Tut. After receiving his commission in 1944, he reported in June of that year as company supervisor at the U.S. Goodwin attended law school and later founded the law firm of Goodwin and Campbell in Chicago, Illinois, before retiring to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1973. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. (NH 95625), Jesse W. Arbor, photographed in U.S. Navy enlisted uniform, probably during his initial training. After commissioning, he underwent further training at Naval Reserve Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois, until July 1944, when he received an assignment to USS Migrant (IX‑66). Lieutenant (junior grade) Arbor passed away in Chicago on 11 January 2000. George Clinton Cooper was born in Washington, Beaufort County, North Carolina, on 7 September 1916, the son of James Edward Cooper and Laura Jane (Johnson) Cooper. In July, he was assigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Local Defense Forces, Twelfth Naval District, in San Francisco, California. Naval Base, Saipan, Marianas Islands. Naval Reserve on 9 December 1942. Because the Navy had assumed a 25% attrition rate, only twelve officer commissions were anticipated. He was comforted by his family. In 1944, after serving in a navy machine shop for several years, he became one of the first thirteen African American Sailors in the U.S. Navy to be selected for officer candidate school. 21, Naval Supply Depot, Guam, Marianas Islands, during which tour he received appointment to chief boatswain (1 July 1945). For his service, Lieutenant (junior grade) Barnes received the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Undergoing a routine medical exam in Norfolk in advance of his deployment, doctors discovered a back injury sustained during officer’s training that precluded him from serving. However, the class had a 100% passing rate. When the course was over, all sixteen passed their exams. Upon graduation he was commissioned ensign on 24 February 1944. (80-G-300192), Photographed in February 1944, soon after attaining officer rank in the Naval Reserve. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Lewis earned her bachelor's degree from Clemson University in 1980 and her J.D. Lewis Pollard Jr., of Lake Placid, Florida, went to be with his Lord early Sunday morning, Jan. 31, 2021. (80-G-300212), Colloquium on Contemporary History 1989-1998, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. He did his undergraduate work at Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, where he met his wife Margarett Gillespie. Lieutenant (junior grade) Arbor has the American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. (NH 95624), On board USS Kidd (DDG-993) in April 1982. That would change when a group of sixteen Black enlisted men were assembled at Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, in Illinois for officer training that month. He died in Washington, D.C., on 21 January 1997. Reginald Ernest Goodwin was born in Washington, D.C., on 27 June 1907. After commissioning, he ran athletic programs at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, until May 1945. Naval Reserve on 1 July 1942, and attended the Navy’s quartermaster school. His last position prior to enlisting in the U.S. He leaves four grandchildren and was blessed with 11 great-grandchildren. J.B. Pinkney. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.. Clear skies. Earlier, he had worked as a waiter and doorman in a Chicago (Illinois) hotel. Brown was the first African-American graduate of the U.S. Walter Joseph Anderson on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at his home in Destrehan, Louisiana. Still a resident of Indianapolis, Martin passed away on 9 May 2006. Plauderecke bei Baby-Vornamen.de mit dem Titel 'Sohn(12 Jahre ) möchte, dass seine Freundin (13), bei uns übernachten bleibt', erstellt von Anna_2016. On 1 July 1945, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) and briefly deployed as the executive officer of a stevedore battalion at Naval Operating Base, Eniwetok Island, Marshalls. Famous January birthdays including Xxxtentacion, Josh Richards, Brent Rivera, Jake Paul, MattyB and many more Following college graduation, he worked in a variety of physical education jobs in Ohio and North Carolina. No reason was given for Alves not receiving a commission. In failing health, George Clinton Cooper passed away on 21 May 2002. On 21 June 1943, Cooper enlisted in the Navy, receiving a direct appointment as a chief petty officer. In October 1943, he joined the U.S. In January 1944, there were nearly 100,000 Black Sailors in the United States Navy, but none were officers. He remained there until ordered to return to the United States in January 1946 for separation processing. After graduation from Washington’s Armstrong High School in 1927, he attended the U.S. School for Printers and later worked as a bookbinder at the Government Printing Office. Despite passing his exams, Pinkney was among the three not chosen to receive a commission. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, MD, on 2 March 1949. He was among the first black yeomen in the Navy, and was chosen to be in the inaugural class of sixteen officers. With the expiration of that enlistment on 18 February 1934, he received his honorable discharge. He was commissioned an ensign in the USNR on 1 March 1944. Photograph is dated 17 March 1944, but was probably taken earlier. Ordered to active duty over three years later, Lieutenant (junior grade) Reagan served as Naval Reserve Recruiting Officer and Assistant to the Officer in Charge of Recruiting, Naval Recruiting Station and Office of Naval Officer Procurement, New York, New York (October 1949-July 1953), during that tour receiving promotion to lieutenant, USNR, on 1 April 1950. After continuing in the Naval Reserve, he received his honorable discharge on 15 October 1954. He died in Hyde Park on 20 February 2004. He was given a medical discharge and released from the Navy in 1945. Augustus Alves had been a merchant mariner before the war, and as part of the class of 16 candidates, had passed the exam. He attended Keokuk High School, and prior to enlisting in the Naval Reserve, was a farmer and also operated a coal business in Canton, Missouri.