Nancy Leftenant, born September 29, 1920 in Goose Creek, South Carolina, became the first African American in the regular US Army Nurse Corps in March 1948. She trained at the Lincoln School for Nurses in the Bronx and joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
In 1946, she was promoted and assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group on Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio. Leftenant-Colon became a flight nurse in the US Air Force and served in Korea and Vietnam.
She was promoted to major and retired from the military and her post as Chief McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. She passed away in January 9, 2025 at 104 years old.
Samuel Gravely, born June 4, 1922 in Richmond, Virginia, joined the Naval Reserve in 1942. He graduated from UCLA, and completed Midshipmen's School at Columbia University and was commissioned as ensign in December 1944.
He was the only black officer aboard the USS PC-1264, a submarine chaser, during WWII. After the war, he was released from active duty, but remained in the Naval Reserve. He was recalled to active duty in 1949, as a recruiter in Washington, DC through the Korean War. In 1955, he transferred to the Reserve to the regular Navy and specialized in naval communications.
He was the first African American officer to command the USS Theodore E. Chandler, from February to October 1961. He commanded the destroyer USS Taussig, from January 1962 to June 1963 during the Vietnam War. He was the first African American to lead a ship into combat. In 1967 he was the first African American to be promoted to captain, and then 1971 the first to reach the rank of rear admiral.
He commanded the Third Fleet in Hawaii and then transferred to Virginia to direct the Defense Communications Agency until he retired in 1980.
He received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service, Navy Commendation Medal, WWII Victory Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the United Nations Korea Medal.
Jesse LeRoy Brown, born October 13, 1926 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, graduated as salutatorian of his high school. Despite racism, he graduated from Ohio State University. In 1946, he enlisted in the US Navy, first becoming a midshipman, and then earned his pilot wings on October 21, 1948. He was the first African American to complete the US Navy's basic flight training program.
He was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Leyte in January 1949. The Leyte was ordered to the Korean Peninsula in October 1950. On December 4, 1950, Brown's Corsair was shot down and he crash landed on a remote mountaintop. He survived the crash and his wingman Thomas Hudner intentionally crashed his plane to rescue Brown.
Unfortunately, Brown was trapped inside the cockpit, and despite the attempts by Hudner to rescue him failed. He passed away, He was the first African American US Navy officer killed in the Korean War.
For his actions, Brown was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal.
Salvador Enrique Felices, born August 13, 1923 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of major general in the United States Air Force. He joined the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Puerto Rico. He entered West Point, the US Military Academy in New York, and took flying lessons. He received his pilots wings in June 1946 and graduated as a second lieutenant.
He flew 19 combat missions during the Korean War as combat operations officer with the 344th Bombardment Squadron. In June 1968, he was named commander of the 306th Bombardment Wing and flew 39 combat missions during the Vietnam War.
In 1969, he became the commander of the 823rd Air Division at McCoy AFB in Florida. He was promoted to major general on April 2, 1973 and became vice commander of the Sixteenth AFB in Spain. He retired from the Air Force in 1974. He passed away from natural causes in July 1987.
Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon, born July 25, 1910 in Hawai'ian territory to a Chinese father and Hawai'ian mother, attended the US Naval Academy in May 1934, becoming the first Asian American graduate from the academy. He played football for the Navy as halfback and punter, helping break an 11-year losing streak against Army in 1934.
After graduation, he was assigned to the USS Indianapolis as ensign. In January 1937, he served on the USS Montgomery, and then lieutenant (junior grade) on the USS Dent in January 1939.
He served on the USS Arizona as a lieutenant and was in Hawai'i on the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was in Honolulu when the attack occurred. He then worked as a naval liaison officer with coastal artillery, and also served on the cruiser USS Honolulu.
In May 1944, Chung-Hoon commanded the destroyer USS Sigsbee. On April 14, 1945, the Sigsbee assisted in an aircraft carrier strike force off Kyushu, when a kamikaze crashed into her. The explosion killed 23 men, knocked out the port engine and steering control and severely damaging her starboard engine.
Admiral Halsey told Chung-Hoon to scuttle the ship, but Chung-Hoon refused, saying "No, I have kids on here that can't swim and I'm not putting them in the water. I'll take her back."
He managed to keep the ship a float while continuing to fire on enemy aircraft, and made it safely back to port. He received the Navy Cross and the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism.
Chung-Hoon commanded the USS John W. Thomason during the Korean War and was promoted to captain July 1, 1953. He retired in 1959 and was promoted to rear admiral, making him the first Asian American flag officer of the US Navy.
He passed away on July 24, 1979, the day before his 69th birthday.
Sammy Lee, born August 1, 1920 in Fresno, California to Korean parents, was the first Asian American man to win an Olympic gold medal for the US and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in platform diving.
He received a degree in civil engineering from Occidental College, and then received his MD from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1947. At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Lee earned the bronze metal in the 3-meter springboard and a gold medal in the 10-meter platform events. He became the first Asian American man to win a gold medal and the second Asian American to earn the gold, since Vicki Draves won a gold medal just two days earlier in the springboard diving event.
In 1952, he was a major in the US Army Medical Corps. He expected to be sent to the Korean War, but was sent to the Olympic Games in Helsinki instead. He won the gold medal in the 10-meter platform, making him the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in platform diving.
Lee continued to serve in the Medical Corps in South Korea from 1953-1955, where he specialized in the diseases of the ear. He practiced as an ear, nose, and throat doctor for 35 more years until his retirement in 1990.
He passed away in Newport Beach, California in December 2016.
Earl Lloyd, born April 3, 1928 in Alexandria, Virginia, became the first African-American to play in the National Basketball Association. He played basketball in high school and named to the All-South Atlantic Conference three times and the All-State Virginia Interscholastic Conference twice. He received a scholarship to play basketball at West Virginia State University.
Lloyd led WVSU to two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Conference and Tournament Championships in 1948 and 1949.
He was drafted into the NBA during the ninth round in 1950 by the Washington Capitols. Lloyd was one of three black players to be drafted at the same time. He played his first game on Halloween night, one day ahead of Chuck Cooper, and four days ahead of Nat Clifton.
The Nationals folded in January 1951, and he was drafted into the US Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He served time in the Korean War before coming back to basketball in 1952. He played six seasons with Syracuse Nationals and two with the Detroit Pistons.
He retired in 1961. He passed away in February 2015 in Tennessee.
In December 1943, Chief of Staff General George Marshall, on the recommendation of Asst. Secretary of War John McCloy, authorized the formation of the first all black unit with black officers and men. The men, selected from the 92nd Infantry Division at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, became the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the first all-black parachute infantry.
During the winter of 1944-1945, Japan sent over 9000 balloons carrying incendiary bombs across the Pacific to the west coast of the United States. The bombs would cause fires. The 555th PIB was deployed to combat the threat and put out the fires. The nature of the Japanese attacks were kept silent by the military and the missions of the 555th PIB were therefore kept secret as well.
Fortunately, no significant wildfires were created but the smaller ones kept the battalion busy. Some of the bombs would detonate upon landing, but others could remain undisturbed for weeks before exploding. The 555th PIB combatted 28 fires during 1945, during which they only lost one man, who died during a jump.
After WWII, the battalion was transferred to Fort Bragg, NC and became attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. When that battalion was disbanded in December 1947, they were transferred to the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The 555th PIB was officially disbanded in August 1950, but many of its members volunteered to form an all-black unit since the Army was segregated then. Although President Truman had ordered the integration of the Army in 1948, the military was slow to comply.
Many of the 555th PIB fought in the Korean War in other units.
Wesley Anthony Brown, born April 3, 1927 in Baltimore, Maryland, became the first African-American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in May 1949. Five other black men had been admitted before him but never finished due to extensive hostility. Brown also faced hostility but did not leave.
He served for twenty years in the US Navy and participated in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Brown retired in June 1969 as lieutenant commander.
Brown passed away in Silver Spring, Maryland in May 2012. The Wesley Brown Field House at the US Naval Academy is named in his honor.
Ola Mildred "Millie" Rexroat, born August 28, 1917 in Argonia, Kansas, is the only Native American to serve in the Women's Airforce Service Pilots.
Her mother was from the Oglala and Rexroat started public school in Wynona, Oklahoma in 1923. She attended WASP training in Sweetwater, Texas and was given the task of towing target planes for aerial gunnery students at Eagle Pass Army Airfield.
When the WASPs were disbanded in 1944, she joined the Air Force and worked as an air traffic controller at Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico, during the Korean War. She continued to work as an air traffic controller for the FAA for 33 years.
She passed away in South Dakota in June 2017, just two months shy of her 100th birthday.
Joseph "Jocko" Clark, born November 12, 1893 in the Cherokee Nation, in Indian Territory, is the first Native American to graduate from the US Naval Academy. Jocko attended Willie Halsell College, Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College (now OSU), before being appointed to the Naval Academy. He graduated as ensign when he graduated in 1917.
He served aboard the USS North Carolina during WWI. After the war, he graduated as a naval aviator from NAS Pensacola in Florida in March 1925.
He was stationed on the USS Yorktown when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In 1944, Clark was promoted to Rear Admiral. Subsequently, he was assigned to command the USS Hornet and commanded his task group in conjunction with Task Force in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
He served during the Korean War and was promoted to Vice Admiral commanding the 7th fleet before retiring from the Navy in December 1953, with the rank of Admiral. He passed away in July 1971.
Kurt Chew-een Lee, born January 21, 1926 in San Francisco, California to Chinese immigrants, is the first Asian-American to become an officer in the US Marine Corps. He was in high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he joined the Marine Corps in 1944. He graduated from The Basic School, USMC officer training in 1946 as second lieutenant, becoming the first non-white officer and the first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps.
He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He attained the rank of major on January 1, 1963 and retired in 1968. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. He passed away in March 2014.
Frank Petersen, born March 2, 1932 in Topeka, Kansas, was the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps general.
He enlisted in the US Navy in June 1950 and served as an electronics technician, but he vowed to a combat pilot. He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1951 and completed flight training in October 1952. He accepted a commission as second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
In February 1979, he was promoted to brigadier general, the first African-American to achieve the rank in the US Marine Corps. In May 1983, he was promoted to major general and in June 1986, to lieutenant general. He was Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, VA in July 1988 when he retired.
Sergeant First Class Modesto Cartagena, born July 21, 1921 in Cayey, Puerto Rico, served in the US Army during WWII and the Korean War. In WWII he was assigned to the Army's 65th Infantry Regiment and served in units guarding Caribbean military installations and in the Allied occupation of Germany.
He was discharged after the war and he returned to Puerto Rico. He re-enlisted at the outbreak of the Korean War and was assigned to Company C, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
He earned the nickname "One Man Army" after his actions on April 19, 1951 in North Korea. He left his position "with no regard for his own safety" and charged into enemy fire, single-handedly destroyed two enemy positions. Although being knocked to the ground twice by exploding grenades, he got up and attacked three more times, destroying three more enemy positions. He was finally wounded.
He stated later that he though the rest of the squad was behind him. He did not realize that most of them had been wounded or forced to take cover.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military decoration in the US Army. Among others decorations, he won the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
The final episode of M*A*S*H aired February 28, 1983. The series based on the Korean War ran for 11 seasons, 14 Primetime Emmys and 8 Golden Globes. Alan Alda and Loretta Swit were the only two actors to appear in the first and last episodes.
Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., born February 11, 1920, was the first African-American to reach the rank of four-star general in any of the US armed forces. He attended the Tuskegee Institute, teaching black pilots during WWII. He flew combat missions in the Korean War and Vietnam War. He has received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merits, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, Meritorious Service Medal and fourteen Air Medals.
On September 1, 1975, he was promoted to the rank of four-star general and assigned as commander in chief of NORAD in Colorado.
He passed away of a heart attack February 25, 1978, only three weeks following his retirement from the Air Force.
Roscoe Robinson, Jr., born October 11, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, is the first African-American to become a four-star general in the U.S. Army. He graduated from the US Military Academy in West Point, with a degree in military engineering in 1951.
He served in the Korean War and received the Bronze Star. He served in the Vietnam War and received the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Silver Stars.
Robinson was promoted to Brigadier General in 1975 and became Commanding General of the US Army Garrison in Okinawa. He was promoted to Major General in 1976 and became a four-star general in 1982.
When he retired in 1985, he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
While we were mourning the loss of Burt Reynolds, another one of our beloved characters from our youth passed away. Bill Daily, who played Major Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie and Howard Borden on the Bob Newhart Show, died September 4 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His family announced his passing on September 7.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Daily served in the Korean War before going into entertainment, as a musician playing bass. He appeared in several TV shows, including Bewitched, before being cast as the bumbling, playboy sidekick to Larry Hagman's Major Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie, which also starred Barbara Eden.
Richard Edward Cavazos, born in Kingsville, Texas January 31, 1929, is the U.S. Army's first Hispanic 4-Star General. After studying at the U.S. Army Command and Staff College, the British Army Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College and the U.S. Army War College, he received basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia (I've been there!). He was deployed to Korea with the 65th Infantry, which consisted of mostly of Puerto Rican natives.
He was awarded the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the Korean War.
In the Vietnam War, he was lieutenant colonel and was commander of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry. He was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions during an attack at Loc Ninh near the Cambodian border.
In 1976, he became the first Hispanic to attain the rank of brigadier general in the Army and in 1982, became the first Hispanic to become a 4-Star General.
His brother, Lauro Cavazos, is the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Cabinet, where he was Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
I could not find any videos of Gen. Cavazos, but he is mentioned in this clip, which shows how distinguished his heritage is!
Manuel Fernandez entered the Army Air Corps in February 1943, and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1944, earning his pilot wings, but did not see conflict during WWII. However, a decade later he saw combat in the Korean War, where he served with the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from September 1952 to May 1953. He flew 124 missions.
He became the third highest ranking American ace with 14.5, but he did it in only 9 months! When he left Korea he was the #1 American ace. The two pilots who surpassed his record took longer to do it.
Unfortunately, I could not find any video footage of Major Fernandez.
