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Golden Thirteen

Privacy Level: Open (White)
Date: About Jan 1944 to about Mar 1944
Location: Naval Station Great Lakes, Lake, Illinois, United Statesmap
Surnames/tags: black_heritage military_and_war
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The "Golden Thirteen" were the first African American commissioned and warrant officers in the United States Navy. All thirteen men overcame racial discrimination to graduate a rushed officer training course in 1944.

During the war, they were prevented from serving on combat ships, so instead they were assigned to smaller vessels, command shore logistics, or training Black recruits.

As Paul Stillwell's book, The Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers writes: "Often denied the privileges and respect routinely accorded white naval officers, they were given menial assignments unworthy of their abilities and training. Yet despite this discrimination, these inspirational young men broke new ground and opened the door for generations to come."

The female equivalent of the Golden Thirteen, the Golden Fourteen, were the first female Yeomen (F) in the United States Navy, who served almost three decades earlier in World War I.

Names in bold are connected to the Global Tree.

Surname Rank Birth Year Birthplace Connected
Arbor, Jesse WalterEnsign1914
Barnes, Phillip GeorgeEnsign
Barnes, Samuel EdwardEnsign1915OhioNo
Baugh, Dalton Louis, Sr.Ensign
Cooper, George ClintonEnsign1916North CarolinaNo
Goodwin, Reginald E.Ensign
Hair, James EdwardEnsign1915
Lear, Charles ByrdWarrant Officer1920
Martin, Graham EdwardEnsign1917
Nelson, Dennis DenmarkEnsign
Reagan, John WalterEnsign1920Marshall, TexasNo
Sublett, Frank EllisEnsign
White, William S.Ensign

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Golden Thirteen
  • The Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers by Paul Stillwell. Naval Institute Press, 2003. [1]
  • U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command; Brief biographies of the members of the first officer training course for African Americans in the U.S. Navy. [2]
  • Goldberg, Dan; "The Golden Thirteen: How Black Men Won the Right to Wear Navy Gold"; Beacon Press, 2020 [3]




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I own a copy of Dan Goldberg's "The Golden Thirteen: How Black Men Won the Right to Wear Navy Gold" and am happy to do lookups!
posted by Kate (Gardner) Schmidt