Gravely, Samuel Lee (1922-2004), was one of the first African American officers in the United States Navy. In 1961, Gravely became the first African American to command a Navy warship. He later became the Navy’s first black admiral and first black fleet commander.
Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., was born in Richmond, Virginia, on June 4, 1922. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve in September 1942. In December 1944, Gravely became the first African American commissioned as an officer from the Navy Reserve Officer Training Course.
Gravely served aboard the submarine chaser USS PC-1264 during World War II (1939-1945). (USS stands for United States Ship.) The ship was one of only two World War II warships that had a mainly African American crew. Gravely was released from active duty after the war, but he remained in the Navy Reserve.
Gravely earned a history degree from Virginia Union University in 1948. That same year, President Harry S. Truman ordered an end to racial segregation (separation) in the armed services. In 1949, the Navy recalled Gravely for active duty. He worked as a Navy recruiter around Washington, D.C. Gravely then served as a communications officer during the Korean War (1950-1953).
In 1962, Gravely took command of USS Falgout, a destroyer escort based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In 1971, Gravely was promoted to rear admiral. In 1976, he assumed command of the many warships, sailors, and marines of the Navy’s Third Fleet. Gravely retired as a vice admiral in August 1980.
Gravely died in Bethesda, Maryland, on Oct. 22, 2004. The destroyer USS Gravely, launched in 2009, is named in his honor.
See also Navy, United States .
