D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill to award a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to the first 13 African American officers in the U.S. Navy.
In 1944, 16 Black males completed training courses to become officers and passed their exams. Only 12 were commissioned as officers and a 13th was made a chief warrant officer, with no reason given by the Navy for why the remaining three did not receive the commission they earned.
“The first African American officers in the U.S. Navy — known as the ‘Golden 13’ — passed their required exams with flying colors, despite being given only half the standard amount of time to train,” Norton said. “These men supported each other throughout. When the group was accused of cheating and forced to retake the exams, the men scored even higher than they did the first time. These brave men overcame injustice and served their country honorably, overseeing all-Black units and the training of Black recruits. It’s past time that we honor them with a Congressional Gold Medal.”
The men to be honored are Jesse Walter Arbor, Phillip G. Barnes, Samuel Edwards Barnes, Dalton Louis Baugh Sr, George Clinton Cooper, Reginald Ernest Goodwin, James Edward Hair, Charles Byrd Lear, Graham Edward Martin, Dennis Denmark Nelson, John Walter Reagan, Frank Ellis Sublett Jr., and William Sylvester White. The three members who passed their exams but were not given a commission were Augustus Alves, J.B. Pinkney and Lewis “Mummy” Williams.