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You may wish to include the Wikipedia article about the USS Mason (DE-529)in this article. The Mason was one of the first US warships to be largely crewed by African-Americans, including many of the "Golden Thirteen" - the first gorup of black naval officers and warrant officers to be commissioned during the Second World War.
Also, any discussion of the history of blacks in the US military should include some reference to Alex Haley. The man who would later write the novel Roots served in the United States Coast Guard during the 1940s and 1950s. Although he first served in a segregated job as a mess steward and cook, his skill as a writer (initially of love letters back home for shipmates) led to Haley's assignment as one of the Coast Guard's first full-time military journalists. Ultimately, the rating of Journalist was created (currently Public Affairs Specialist), with Haley as the first Chief Petty Officer in that specialty. This was a significant step in both the desegregation of the Coast Guard and the advancement of blacks to the senior enlisted ranks in the naval services. A cutter assigned to patrol the waters off Alaska is named in his honor.
