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More African American/Black History Month Military Milestones

Courtesy graphic.

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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -  Fifty years ago, the initial celebration of African American/Black History Month occurred at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, from Jan. 2 to Feb. 28, 1970.  Similarly, during America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, Gerald Ford became the first president to recognize African American/Black History Month, and since then, other U.S. chief executives have also done so. 


This week, we profile four more African American men and women who demonstrated sacrifice, selflessness, and service, while wearing the uniform.


During the Battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813, which involved nine American naval vessels fighting a larger British fleet, Sailor Cyrus Tiffany exhibited bravery and servant leadership in the heat of battle. When Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry’s flagship, the USS Lawrence, started to sink after experiencing significant damage, and also with 80 percent of its crew injured, he (Perry) ordered the abandonment of the ship for another – the USS Niagara – a half mile away.  Tiffany was one of four crew members selected by Perry to row the life boat.  In the midst of the perilous journey, he acted as a bodyguard for Perry, shielding the naval leader from enemy fire.  Once onboard the USS Niagara, Perry subsequently led his men to defeat the superior British naval forces.  In doing so, Perry became a war hero, and Tiffany joined his commander for a post-victory goodwill tour in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England.  Following the War of 1812, Tiffany continued his naval career under Perry.  In 1818, he perished aboard the Perry-led USS Java, and was interred at sea. 


In 1942, U.S. Army Maj. Della Raney became the initial African American chief nurse commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A native of Suffolk, Virginia, she graduated from the Lincoln School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina, in 1937. Raney was one of approximately 500 African American nurses serving in the ANC during World War II.  Shortly thereafter, she held the position of nursing director at the station hospital, Camp Beale, California (now known as Beale Air Force Base, California). She retired from military service in 1978.  Maj. Raney died on Nov. 23, 1987.


Like Maj. Raney, Irene Trowell-Harris, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the New York Air National Guard in April 1963, earned her nursing degree four years earlier from the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing, New York City, New York.  During a landmark 38-year military career, Trowell-Harris held various nursing positions including chief nurse, nurse administrator, and flight nurse administrator.  In March 1986, she assumed command of a medical facility, the 105th Tactical Air Command Hospital, Westchester County Airport, White Plains, New York, becoming the first nurse in the Air National Guard to do so.  On Oct. 25, 1993, Trowell-Harris achieved another milestone, serving as the initial African American general officer in the National Guard with her promotion to brigadier general. Less than five years later, she earned her second star. Maj. Gen. Trowell-Harris retired on Sept. 29, 2001, but she continued to serve our nation.  For the next 12 years, she was the director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Women Veterans, Washington, D.C.


On Dec. 7, 1941, as Japanese airplanes attacked Pearl Harbor, Sailor Dorie Miller selflessly assisted the wounded, and with no training, shot anti-aircraft guns at the enemy airframes.  For his valor, he was the first African American to receive the Navy Cross, the third-highest award bestowed by the Navy at that time.  Almost two years after his heroic efforts at Pearl Harbor, Miller died aboard the USS Liscome Bay, sunk by Japanese submarine’s torpedo during the Battle of Makin.  On Jan. 19, 2020, the Navy announced a Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-81, would be named in Miller’s honor.  The ship is slated to be launched in 2028. 


To learn more about African American/Black History Month, go to  https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov.

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