SAMUEL L. GRAVELY, JR.

Gravely (1922- ) was born in Richmond, Virginia, and joined the Naval Reserve in 1942 as a seaman. When he was commissioned Ensign, he was the only African American naval officer among more than 1,000 attending the ceremony. In 1971, he was commissioned the first black Vice (3-star) Admiral. Gravely served 34 years commanding programs, operations, and a navy fleet composed of 80-120 ships.

Reference
Smith, Jessie Carney, ed. Notable Black American Men. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research, Inc., 1999. 473-475.

DANIEL “CHAPPIE” JAMES

James (1920-1978) was born in Pensacola, Florida, and learned to fly while attending the Tuskegee Institute. He received an appointment as a cadet in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and was commissioned through the remainder of World War II to train pilots for the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron. During the Korean War he flew 101 missions in fighters, and from 1966-67 he flew 78 combat missions over Vietnam. In 1975 he became the first African American officer to obtain four-star rank in any service. He then commanded the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), with responsibility for all aspects of the air defense of the United States and Canada. General James died of a heart attack shortly after retiring.

HENRY JOHNSON

Johnson was born in Albany, New York, and served with the famous 369th Infantry-the Harlem Hellfighters-during World War I. In May 1918, he was attacked by Germans while on sentry duty in a trench. Suffering multiple wounds, he ran to the assistance of a wounded comrade who was about to be carried away by the enemy. He continued to fight till the Germans were driven off, and for his heroic actions, he became one of the first Americans in World War I to be awarded France’s highest military honor, the Croix de Guerre.

Reference
Greene, Robert E. Black Defenders of America, 1775-1973 Chicago, IL: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1974. 174.

DORIE MILLER

Miller (1919-1943) was born to a sharecropper family in Waco, Texas, and was recruited into the Navy. As a messman on the battleship Arizona, he was occupied with laundry on deck when the Japanese attacked his ship on the morning of December 7, 1941. After tending to the ship’s dying captain, he ran to a machine gun on deck, and though never having been trained to use it, he commenced to shoot down four enemy planes before running out of ammunition. Six months later, at the age of 22, Miller was awarded the coveted Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz on the direct orders of President Roosevelt. He was advanced to mess attendant first class and assigned his old duty of waiting tables. On November 24, 1943, he perished aboard the U.S.S. Liscome Bay when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.