Black sailors and the integration of the U.S. Navy /Bernard C. Nalty.

60 Pages·2003·7.2 MB·English

by  Washington, D.C. :Naval Historical Center

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ng Passage To KorLea, Blaock Sa ng Pas: vsluuLya'j7u0t2u6g1\ 1\ iJcr e^
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to
Black Sailors and the
Integration of the U.S. Navy
Bernard. C. Nalty
The U.S. Navy and the Korean War
Naval Historical Center
Captain William L. Erdmann, commanding officer ofcarrier Leyte (CV33), commissionsJesse L. Brown an
ensign in the UnitedStates Navy inApril 1949. Following enlistment in the NavalReserve in 1946, Brown
completedseveralyears ofpreflightandflight trainingatstatesidefacilities. Lieutenant CommanderE. D.
Willems, center, is the commanding officer ofFighter Squadron 32, to which Brown is assigned.
Long
Passage
Korea
to
Black Sailors and the
Integration of the U.S. Navy
Bernard C. Nalty
The U.S. Navy and the Korean War
Edward Marolda
J.
Series Editor
IAMPA-HfcL&BQRCiiJGH
COURNTEYGPUBBLIVC EL48DRARV
4?Sg§-
FEDERAL DEPOSITORY
Naval Historical Center
Department of the Navy
Washington 2003
Secretary ofthe Navy’s
Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History
Dr. David Alan Rosenberg (Chair)
Rear Admiral Thomas Brooks, USN (Ret.)
Commander Wesley A. Brown, CEC, USN (Ret.)
Dr. Frank G. Burke
Vice Admiral George W. Emery, USN (Ret.)
Captain R. Robinson Harris, USN (Ret.)
Dr. John B. Hattendorf
Rear Admiral John T. Kavanaugh, USN (Ret.)
Dr. Beverly Shreiber Jacoby
Rear Admiral John M. Kersh, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Burt Logan
Dr. James R. Reckner
Dr. William N. Still Jr.
Ms. Virginia S. Wood
CoverdesignbyMorganI. Wilbur
BookdesignbyJohnA. Grier
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nalty, Bernard C.
Long passage to Korea : Blacksailors and the integration ofthe U.S. Navy/ Bernard
C. Nalty.
—
p. cm. (The U.S. Navy and the Korean War)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-945274-48-3 (alk. paper)
—
1. United Stares. Navy AfricanAmericans. 2. AfricanAmerican sailors. 3. Korean
—
War, 1950-1953 Participation, African American. I. Title. II. Series.
VB324.A47N35 2003
—
359'.008996'073 dc21 2003042178
@
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements for permanence
established by theAmerican National Standard lor Information Sciences
“Permanence ofPaper for Printed Library Materials” (ANSI Z39.48-1984).
Forsalebythe SuperintendentofDocuments, U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
Internet:bookstore.gpo.gov Phone:tollfree(866)512-1800; DCarea(202)512-1800
Fax:[phone]Mail:StopSSOP,Washington.DC20402-0001
ISBN 0-16-051355-3
1
Contents
Foreword v
Preface vi
Introduction 1
The Early Republic 3
Filling the Ranks 6
From Slavery to Jim Crow 1
World War II Experience 17
Into the Cold War 23
Impact of the Korean War 36
Sidebars
The Impressment of Black Sailors 4
Robert A. Smalls 7
The March on Washington 16
African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard 19
President Truman’s Executive Order 9981 29
Black Sports Heroes ofthe Korean War Era 44
Acknowledgments 47
About theAuthor 47
Sources 47
Collection
Axt
Navy
Portrayedin the cockpitofhisF4U-4 Corsair, EnsignJesseL. Brown was thefirstAfricanAmerican navalaviatortoserve in combat.
The youngofficer wasa member ofFighterSquadron 32 basedon boardcarrierLeyte (CV32) offthe eastcoastofNorthKorea. On
4December 1950, whileflyinga mission in supportofthe 1stMarineDivision nearthe Chosin Reservoir, Brown wasforcedto crash-
landhis disabledplane in mountainous terrain. Despite heroic efforts, Brown’s wingman couldnotflee the injuredanddyingpilot
from the wreckedaircraft. Oilportraitby CliffordLee.
MAY
0 5 2003
federal
depository
Foreword
D-108 C
T
HIS MONOGRAPH, THE THIRD in the years to come, but during the Korean War of
Naval Historical Center’s series commemorat- 1950-1953, black and white Sailors and Marines
ing the Korean War, not only covers the con- lought side by side once again. African Americans
tribution ofAfrican American Sailors in that conflict piloted fighters and attack aircraft, manned guns on
but traces the story ofracial integration in the U.S. board battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, and
Navy since the American Revolution. During the early lought their way up and down the hard, cold hills of
republic, when the fledgling navy needed seamen of Korea. Black women continued their service in the
all colors to protect the nation, African Americans Navy Nurse Corps and in the regular Navy.
were part ofeverywarship’s crew. In the Civil War, Lieutenant (jg) Jesse Brown and many other African
African Americans fought with distinction in iron- Americans paid the ultimate price while doing their
clads on the Mississippi, in blockading vessels on the duty for the country. We are fortunate that Bernard
East and Gulfcoasts, and in warships patrolling the Nalty, a renowned authority on racial integration of
oceans ofthe world. Growing racial polarization in the armed services, has completed this fine study.
American society in the late 19th and early 20th cen- His familiarity with the relevant issues, as well as
turies, however, affected the status ofAfrican with the best primary and secondary sources, makes
American Sailors who were excluded from most ship- this social history especially valuable to the Sailors
board billets and limited to the less desired ratings, and Marines who now defend the nation.
such as stewards and coal heavers. Several individuals are responsible for the success
Political action by black and white Americans to ofthis series and deserve special recognition: Dr.
end racial injustice in the armed forces, the man- Edward Marolda, Senior Historian of the Naval
J.
power demands ofa nation fighting for survival, and Historical Center and the series editor; Ms. Sandra
the realization that the United States could not con- Doyle, the Center’s Senior Editor; Lieutenant
demn Nazi and Japanese racism abroad while con- Colonel Steven Held, USMC, the Navy-Marine
doning it at home led to some changes in the Navy’s Corps Korean War Commemoration Coordinator,
racial policies during World War II. Not until the and his predecessor Lieutenant Colonel Ward E.
early Cold War years did the nation squarely face the Scott, USMC; the Naval Historical Foundation; and
issue ofracial integration ofthe armed forces. Both the Marine Corps History and Museums Division.
to right a historic wrong and to make political capi- As with all works in the series, the views expressed
tal, on 26 July 1948, President Harry S. Truman are those ofthe author and do not necessarily reflect
issued Executive Order 9981 that established a poli- those ofthe Department ofthe Navy or any other
cy ofequal treatment and opportunity for all mili- U.S. government agency.
tary members.
Racial inequality would continue to plague the William S. Dudley
Navy and the other armed forces for many more Director ofNaval History
Preface
T
HE KOREAN WAR, LIKETHE other con- integrating the races in the crews offleet auxiliaries
flicts in the nation’s history, challenged the like oilers and ammunition ships, though not on com-
Navy to make the most efficient and effective bat ships where the onlyAfrican American Sailors
use ofits resources, both human and material. continued to be cooks or stewards.
Throughout all ofits wars, the recruiting, training, AfterWorld War II ended, racial integration lost
and assignment ofAfrican Americans posed a recur- the headway gained during the last year ofthe con-
ring problem for the U.S. government in the employ- flict. Japan’s surrender in September 1945 triggered
ment ofmanpower because ofslavery and the racial the headlong demobilization ofthe armed forces of
discrimination it spawned. As early as the undeclared the United States. Many ofthe ships that had helped
naval war with France, 1798-1800, the Navy ofthe win the war were mothballed or sacrificed in tests of
United States tapped the reservoir offree black fisher- the new atomic bomb. Crewmembers went home, the
men and merchant seamen then available in northern African Americans among them returning to experi-
seaports. Reliance on racially integrated crews survived ence the humiliations ofa societywhere racial segrega-
beyond the Civil War and the abolition ofslavery, tion still prevailed.
only to succumb to the principle ofseparate but President Harry S. Truman challenged the existing
equal, validated in 1896 by the Supreme Court. As racial policy on 26 July 1948, when he ordered the
racial segregation took hold and the era ofJim Crow armed forces to integrate the races, but compliance
began, the Navy separated blacks from whites, a task proved uneven at best, with the Navy and Army lag-
completed by the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1917, ging behind the newly established Air Force. When
and paid the price in lost efficiency to maintain the communist North Korea invaded South Korea on 25
policy during that conflict and afterward. The June 1950, the smaller peacetime Navy had propor-
unprecedented demands ofWorld War II, however, tionally fewerAfrican American Sailors than during
created pressure for a more rational use ofhuman World War II, and most ofthose still in uniform
resources that eroded but did not destroy racial segre- served in the Steward Branch where they performed
gation in the Navy. housekeeping duties.
Secretary ofthe NavyJames V. Forrestal, who took The outbreak ofwar in Korea launched another
office in 1944, concluded that the training and assign- period ofrapid growth for the Navy. The new
ments available to African Americans had to reflect recruits, reservists recalled to wartime active duty,
their abilities and the needs ofthe wartime Navy, and newly commissioned officers included African
instead ofbeing determined almost exclusively by Americans who, thanks to the President’s directive of
race. By the time the war ended, the Navy had com- July 1948, often received better treatment and
missioned its first black officers, experimented with a greater opportunity in uniform than they had
few ships manned byAfrican Americans, and begun encountered as civilians. The new policy ofracial
V)
integration was in place, as were the Navy encourage black Sailors to choose specialties other
Department directives to carry it out, but the naval than steward duty; and to mitigate the effects of
service, despite its successful experience with racial racial segregation, which prevailed by law or cus-
integration as World War II ended, had not yet shak- tom throughout much of the nation, on the Navy’s
en offthe dead hand ofracism. African Americans in their contacts with civilian
To its credit, the Navy that fought the Korean society. During the Korean conflict, the Navy
War made a determined effort to carry out demonstrated a commitment to equal treatment
President Truman’s racial policy. This campaign had and opportunity, regardless ofrace, that took root
three major objectives: to increase the number of and flourishes today.
African Americans, especially officers but also
enlisted men, and make full use oftheir abilities; to Bernard C. Nalty
Vll
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016 with funding from
University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries
https://archive.org/details/blacksailorsinteOOwash