From 1893 until 1942, Black men joining the US Navy were restricted to mess & steward duies. In 1944, under pressure from Eleanor Roosevelt, the Navy finally allowed a group of Black men to attend naval officer training. They became known as the Golden Thirteen
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The men's backgrounds varied - teachers, metalsmiths, lawyers, students, athletes. Most were the children, or grandchildren, of slaves. They ranged from 23-36 years old. They were segregated from white officer candidates & even Black enlisted recruits. /2

Usually a 16 week course of seamanship, navigation, gunnery, & naval regulation at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, the Navy reduced it to 8, hoping they would fail. The men instead stayed up nights studying, covering the barracks windows so as not to be discovered. /3

Said George Cooper, “We decided this was an experiment which could not fail because it meant too much to too many people. We would either excel as a group or fail as a group.”

All 16 men passed the course. The Navy made them retake the exams. They all passed again, 3.89 avg /4

Even so, only 13 men (12 ensigns, 1 warrant officer) were commissioned. The remaining 3 men were never given a reason by the Navy, but it was thought it was a face saving move, since white classes usually had washouts. /5

Because the Navy wouldn't allow Black command of vessels at sea or white sailors, they assigned them to training Black recruits, overseeing all-Black logistics units, or commanding small vessels such like tugs, patrol craft, & oilers crewed by Black sailors. None saw combat /6

The Golden Thirteen

Top row: John W Reagan, Jesse W Arbor, Dalton L Baugh, Frank E Sublett. Middle row: Graham E Martin, Charles B Lear, Phillip G Barnes, Reginald E Goodwin. Bottom row: James E Hair, Samuel E Barnes, George C Cooper, William S White, Dennis D Nelson /6

The last of the Golden Thirteen, Frank E. Sublett, died in 2006. They paved the way for Black men & women to serve with distinction as officers in the US Navy for the next seven decades. To learn more about their story, I recommend https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/625231/the-golden-thirteen-by-dan-goldberg/
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