Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN: First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier PDF
Preview Rear Admiral Larry Chambers, USN: First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier
ReaRadmiRal laRRyChambeRs,UsN This page intentionally left blank R a eaR dmiRal l C , UsN aRRy hambeRs First African American to Command an Aircraft Carrier Ric murphy McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina Photographs noted as “(personal collection)” are from the collection of Rear admiral larry Chambers libraRyofCoNgRessCatalogUiNg-iN-PUbliCatioNdata Names: murphy, Ric, author. title: Rear admiral larry Chambers, UsN : first african american to command an aircraft carrier / Ric murphy. other titles: first african american to command an aircraft carrier description: Jefferson, North Carolina : mcfarland & Company, inc., Publishers, 2018 | includes bibliographical references and index. identifiers: lCCN 2017049329 | isbN 9781476667270 (softcover : acid free paper) ♾ subjects: lCsh: Chambers, larry, 1929– | admirals—United states— biography. | United states. Navy—officers—biography. | United states. Navy—african americans—biography. | midway (attack aircraft carrier)— biography. | african american sailors—social conditions—20th century. | african american sailors—Civil rights—history—20th century. | Vietnam War, 1961–1975—aerial operations, american. | Vietnam War, 1961–1975— Naval operations, american. | United states—history, Naval—20th century. Classification: lCC e840.5.C53 m87 2018 | ddC 359.0092 [b] —dc23 lC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049329 bRitishlibraRyCatalogUiNgdataaReaVailable ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-6727-0 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-2753-3 © 2018 Ric murphy. all rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. front cover: Rear admiral larry Chambers, United states Navy (Ret.) Printed in the United states of america McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com toJanetfayemurphyChambers acknowledgments myresearchowesmuchtothecooperationofarchivists,librar- ians, and historians who freely shared their time and expertise. i wish to thank the wonderful and supportive staff of the Uss Midway museum, including Rod atteberry, exhibit’s audio Visual tech - nician; dave hanson, Collection manager; and Karl Zing heim, his- torian, for their guidance and direction. i would also like to thank lisa Crunk and the staff of the Naval history and heritage Com- mand and holly Reed, archives specialist, NWCs- stills, National archives. i would like to thank Rear admiral Chambers for allowing me to interview him and review his personal pictures, files and artifacts, and for his knowledge and patriotism. i am also grateful to larry’s wife, sarah Jones- Chambers, who made the logistics possible to con- duct the interviews with larry and helped sort through the nautical terms used herein. sarah’s personal knowledge helped bring life to several of the stories that may have been forgotten to history. finally, i wish to thank the men of Uss Midway, who without question or doubt saved the lives of the americans, foreign nationals and Vietnamese refugees on that hot, momentous day of april 29, 1975. While they may never have gotten the medals they so richly deserve, they are truly unsung heroes worthy of our nation’s praise and sincerest of accolades. thank you for your service. vi table of Contents Acknowledgments vi Preface 1 Glossary 3 Introduction 5 1. the first thirty days 9 2. the dunbar years 23 3. the annapolis years 34 4. Cold War 49 5. Vietnam War 74 6. Civil Unrest 86 7. fall of saigon 101 8. operation frequent Wind 116 9. “bird dog on final” 141 10. Port of sattahip 157 11. Rear admiral 172 Epilogue 187 Chronology 193 Chapter Notes 205 Bibliography 211 Index 215 vii This page intentionally left blank Preface i became interested in the career of Rear admiral lawrence Chambers during the Vietnam War when i learned that he was the captain of the Uss Midwayand the first african american to com- mand an aircraft carrier in the United states Navy. and, like millions ofothersworldwide,iwascaptivatedbytheeventsinsouthVietnam during the fall of saigon, when the largest helicopter evacuation on record took place as part of the United states military action known as operation frequent Wind. during operation frequent Wind, as communist- led North Viet namese were entering the city, there were countless american military personnel who courageously rescued american civilians, military personnel, other foreign nationals and south Vietnamese sympathizers by helicopter and ferried them out to awaiting ameri - can aircraft carriers. this included the Midwaywhere Captain Cham- bers displayed tremendous courage and leadership including ordering that millions of dollars of military helicopters be pushed over the side of the ship so that a south Vietnamese air force major could safely land on board in a small Cessna aircraft with his family, saving their lives. While many articles, journals and books have been written about the Vietnam War and the events surrounding the fall of sai - gon, i wanted to explore the leadership qualities of one of the many unsung heroes of the war, who had the temperament and judgment to make the right decisions during a period of crisis and humanitarian need. the minutes and hours leading up to, and every split- second during, the mission of operation frequent Wind aboard the Midway reflected a highly efficient organization managed by a skilled and calm commanding officer. 1
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