Posted on February 12, 2025 by

The VRC Honors Trailblazing Black Veterans

University Student Union Veterans Resource Center

The Veterans Resource Center is honoring some historical Black service members in recognition of Black History Month. These figures have all made valuable contributions to the Unites States Armed Forces.

The Tuskegee Airmen

With lifting restrictions against African American aviators, the Unites States Army Air Corp (the predecessor to today’s Air Force) opened an air base in Tuskegee, Alabama where they began training segregated units in 1941. The base produced the 99th Fighter Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group, all of which made up the “Tuskegee Airmen.” The airmen’s exceptional service contributed to the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces in 1948 via Executive Order 9981, signed by President Truman. One of the airmen, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., became the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force posthumously in 1998. The Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 for their service and valuable contributions to the armed forces.

Read more from the Smithsonian.

Hazel Johnson-Brown

Born in 1927, Hazel Johnson-Brown dedicated her life to nursing. After initially being rejected from nursing school due to her race, Johnson-Brown attended the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing and graduated in 1950. In 1955, she joined the newly integrated Army Nurse Corps. During her service, Johnson-Brown became the first African American woman to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Army and, in 1979, she became the first African American woman to lead the Army Nurse Corps. While serving, she also earned her Master of Science in Nursing Education from Columbia University Teachers College. Johnson-Brown was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal, as well as numerous commendations, due to her work. She passed away in 2011 and is buried at Arlington National Ceremony.

Carl Brashear

Carl Brashear was born in 1931 to a sharecropping family. He enlisted in U.S. Navy in 1948 at age 17 and faced racial discrimination throughout his career. In 1966, Brashear’s left leg was amputated below the knee due to an injury from a salvage operation. Despite this obstacle, Brashear went on to become the first African American to earn the title of U.S. Navy Master Diver in 1970. Brashear served for over 30 years, concluding his service with the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer and with many accolades, including the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. His life inspired the movie Man of Honor, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Brashear passed away in 2006 and is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens in Virginia.

Alfred D. Masters

Born in 1918, Alfred D. Masters was the first African American to enlist in the Marine Corps. After joining on June 1, 1942, Masters trained at Montford Point Camp in North Carolina, which was segregated at the time. Masters served as part of the 51st Composite Defense Battalion and later the 52nd, contributing to the war effort during World War II. In 1945, Masters was honorably discharged with the rank of Technical Sergeant in the Commissary Branch. He passed away in 1975, leaving behind a legacy of courage and progress in the fight for equality in the military. Masters and the “Montford Point Marines” collectively received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2012.

Learn more about Masters from the Carolina Museum of the Marine.