African-American Service Academy Pioneers
U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY WEST POINT, N.Y. Henry Ossian Flipper, who was born into slavery in 1856, became the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1877. After receiving his
commission, Flipper was assigned to lead Buffalo soldiers with the 10th Calvary Regiment. His commanding officer later would accuse him of embezzling funds. Flipper faced a court- martial and left the Army in 1882 after losing his commission. Flipper, who died in 1940 at the age of 84, maintained his innocence. In the 1990s, his descendants filed an application for a pardon, which President Bill Clinton issued in February 1999.
U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS, MD. Wesley Brown, a descendant of Virginia slaves, was the first black midshipman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 1949. Brown would serve
two decades in the Navy as a civil engineer. He retired as a lieutenant commander in 1969. During his time at
the Naval Academy, Brown was ostracized from his classmates because of his race. A group of upperclassmen gave him so many demerits for fabricated infractions during his first term he was nearly expelled, according to the Washington Post. Brown died in 2012 at the age of 85.
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Charles Bush was the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first black graduate. He was a member of the class of 1963 and went on to become an intelligence officer, leading airmen in Vietnam. Bush left the Air
Force in 1970 to attend Harvard Business School in Boston, where he studied finance. He later would serve as a diversity consultant for the Air Force and the Air Force Academy.
He died in 2012 at the age of 72. At a memorial service following his death, one of Bush’s classmates said he was known for holding junior African-American cadets to high s andards
o high standards..
U.S. COAST GUARD ACADEMY NEW LONDON, CONN.
In 1966, Merle Smith became the first African- American to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He also played football there. The son of an Army officer, Smith would go on to serve more
than two decades in the Coast Guard. During the Vietnam War, he served as a patrol boat commander, leading more than 80 naval fire-support missions. He later was awarded the Bronze Star with the combat “V” device t
ombat “V” device to denote heroism.
IMAGES: ABOVE FROM LEFT, SHUTTERSTOCK; FELIX LIPOV/SHUTTERSTOCK; GINO SANTA MARIA/SHUTTERSTOCK; PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS CORY J. MENDENHALL, USCG; TOP, FROM LEFT, U.S. ARMY; U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY; USAF; USCG
FEBRUARY 2017 MILITARY OFFICER 65
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