NEWS
Navy’s Latest Warship Named in Honor
Vice Adm. Brother Samuel L. Gravely Jr.
THE U.S. NAVY’S latest Arleigh Burkeclass destroyer began full-active service in January, carrying the name of one of the most celebrated African-American naval officers in U.S. history—Vice Admiral Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. Gravely was born in 1922 in Richmond, Va., and spent two years at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Va., where he was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Gamma Chapter. After college he enlisted in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in September 1942 and was trained as a fireman apprentice. In 1943, he participated in the Navy V-12 program, which was designed to select and train naval officers. In December 1944, Gravely successfully completed midshipman training, becoming the first
U.S.S. Gravely (DDG 107) during sea trials in June, 2010.
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African-American commissioned officer from the Naval ROTC. With a host of military and civilian dignitaries present, the Navy commissioned the U.S.S. Gravely (DDG 107) on Nov. 20, 2010, in Wilmington, N.C. In May 2009, with more than 2,000 guests in attendance, the spirit and legacy of Brother Gravely was heralded as his wife Alma Gravely christened the destroyer during the ship’s christening ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss. “He would be very happy, but you wouldn’t really know it too much when you talked to him because he wasn’t one to brag or do anything like that,” Gravely told cable news station News 14 Carolina. Admiral Gravely spent more than 38 years in the Navy, during which he