Navy from its early years to the present day. Navy Chronology follows the contributions of African Americans in the history of the U.S. The Navy planted the seeds for racial integration during World War II and trained a generation of outstanding African American officers and enlisted personnel who provided critical leadership and expertise during the Cold War. More than 7,500 American military personnel remain unaccounted for in the Korean War, according to the government agency that tracks prisoners of war and those missing in action.Today’s African American Sailors stand proudly knowing the accomplishments of their predecessors, including the eight black Sailors who earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War Dick Henry Turpin, one of the survivors of the explosion aboard the battleship Maine and the 14 black female yeomen who enlisted during World War I.

Smith spent an incredible amount of money imaging the area where we think that my grandfather’s remains are,” said Knight Henry, adding that her family has worked with different agencies and groups to maximize any potential opportunity to get answers.

Smith has donated “Devotion”'s proceeds, in part, to endow a new scholarship fund, the Brown Hudner Navy Scholarship Foundation, for the children of Navy service members pursuing studies in STEM.

“He’s never had a full sort of burial with that with the pomp and circumstance that that we think is worthy of what his contribution is to this country” Knight Henry said, speaking from Washington.īrown grew up in Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, and succeeded in qualifying to be a pilot in the Navy, despite his training officer refusing to pin on his wings - just one of many racist insults and hurdles he overcame.

Black navy war 1