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The Messman Chronicles: African-Americans in the U.S. Navy, 1932-1943
Despite racial discrimination and second-class status within the enlisted corps, the U.S. Navy's mess attendants, officer's cooks, and stewards compiled a proud legacy of combat service in World War II. The heroism of a few like "Dorie" Miller became well known to the American public, but most have long been forgotten. This book tells the story of those thousands of unheralded sailors of African descent who served in frontline combat with fellow "messmen" of Filipino, Guamanian, and Chinese ancestry from the first day of war to the last. Their story begins with recruit training in the racially segregated confines of Norfolk, Virginia's Units K-West and B-East during the 1930s and proceeds through the perilous early months of war. Though long disparaged as "seagoing chambermaids" and worse, they gallantly upheld the honor of their race while shedding their blood in full proportion in some of history's greatest naval battles.
For this first major study of the subject, Richard E. Miller draws on a wealth of previously untapped primary documents and more than forty oral history interviews that he conducted. The men he interviewed served at the Naval Academy and aboard ships of all types prior to their wartime service. Miller focuses on the period from late 1932, when the Navy reopened its doors to black men, to 1943, when the ranks of the re-named "steward's branch" had grown and become transformed by the influx of wartime inductees. Collectively, the interviews cover nearly every naval campaign in the first two years of war. This unexplored perspective of the U.S. Navy puts a face on the "greatest generation's" last overlooked heroes while making a significant contribution to the operational, social, and cultural history of the U.S. Navy.
For this first major study of the subject, Richard E. Miller draws on a wealth of previously untapped primary documents and more than forty oral history interviews that he conducted. The men he interviewed served at the Naval Academy and aboard ships of all types prior to their wartime service. Miller focuses on the period from late 1932, when the Navy reopened its doors to black men, to 1943, when the ranks of the re-named "steward's branch" had grown and become transformed by the influx of wartime inductees. Collectively, the interviews cover nearly every naval campaign in the first two years of war. This unexplored perspective of the U.S. Navy puts a face on the "greatest generation's" last overlooked heroes while making a significant contribution to the operational, social, and cultural history of the U.S. Navy.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2003
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March 16, 2025
The US Navy "messman" were the unsung heroes of WWII. People often assume the US Navy was segregated during WW II and black sailors didn't serve on board US warships - wrong. Almost every Fleet Sub, Destroyer, Battleship and and Aircraft carrier had Black Stewards (called Messmen before 1943) who made up 1-2 percent of each ship's complement.
For example the USS Indianapolis had 20 black Stewards on board out of crew of 1100. Most Fleet subs had 2 Black stewards out of a complement of 72-84. Usually each warship had about 1 Stewart for every 4 officers. These men manned battle stations during combat and got wounded and killed like everyone else. The book details the 20 or so Messman killed at Pearl Harbor and the 50 or so Killed durng the Battle of Savo island.
The book is well written and provides lot of detail. My only objection is it ends in 1943, when the "Messman" became Stewards. I would've like to have read about the stewards and the Kamikazes.
For example the USS Indianapolis had 20 black Stewards on board out of crew of 1100. Most Fleet subs had 2 Black stewards out of a complement of 72-84. Usually each warship had about 1 Stewart for every 4 officers. These men manned battle stations during combat and got wounded and killed like everyone else. The book details the 20 or so Messman killed at Pearl Harbor and the 50 or so Killed durng the Battle of Savo island.
The book is well written and provides lot of detail. My only objection is it ends in 1943, when the "Messman" became Stewards. I would've like to have read about the stewards and the Kamikazes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review