During Black History month, we should also remember the "unsung heros" of our time.
Most of us know the contributions that our famous brothers and sisters have made, but there are so many others that we do not hear of.
While doing a search on the National Archives site, I found this wonderful link on African-Americans in the military.
The National Archives site is a great place to find little known information on just about any subject.
Take time to check out this resource, especially if you are new at genealogy or if you just need information for a school project.
You can find them at www.archives.gov.
Navy
Gun crew members, Jonell Copeland, AtM2/c; Que Gant, StM; Harold Clark, Jr., StM;
James Eddie Dockery,StM; Alonzo Alexander Swann, StM; and Eli Benjamin, StM.,
were given the Navy Cross for standing by their gun when their ship was damaged by enemy attack in the Philippine area.
Sailors of the U.S.S. Mason, commissioned at Boston Navy Yard on 20 Mar. 1944, proudly look over their ship
which is the first to have a predominately African-American crew.
(February 1944) Recently appointed officers. Left to right, front row: Ensigns George Clinton Cooper, Graham Edward Martin,
Jesse Walter Arbor, John Walter Reagan, Reginald Ernest Goodwin. Back row, left to right, Ensigns Phillip George Barnes,
Samuel Edward Barnes, Dalton Louis Baugh, James Edward Hare, Frank Ellis Sublett, and WO Charles Byrd Lear.
(June 2, 1942) William Baldwin, first Navy African-American recruit for General Service.
Army
The 41st Engineers at Ft. Bragg, NC in color guard ceremony.
Seeking to rescue a Marine who was drowning in the surf at Iwo Jima, these soldiers
narrowly missed death themselves when their amphibian truck was swamped by heavy seas.
From left to right, back row, they are T/5 L. C. Carter, Jr., Private John Bonner, Jr., Staff Sergeant Charles R. Johnson.
Standing, from left to right, are T/5 A. B. Randle, T/5 Homer H. Gaines, and Private Willie Tellie.
Drivers of the 666th Quartermaster Truck Company, 82nd Airborne Division
Left to right: T/5 Sherman Hughes, T/5 Hudson Murphy, Pfc. Zacariah Gibbs.
More to come....
Photos from the National Archives