A Rope from Above

Frank Bland

Description

More than one Black sailor went unreported on the morning of December 7th, 1941, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Even though it begins with tragedy, this book will give insight on some of my father's most memorable events. Through anecdotes, news reports, and historical documents, we can only get a taste of what life was like in the past.
The Rope symbolized death, but that changed for a short moment in “A Day that will live in Infamy.” After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered “The Infamy Speech” before a joint session to Congress in War Declaration 125 on December 8th, 1941. The phrase “a date which will live in infamy” appears in the first line of Roosevelt’s address. People often use “Pearl Harbor Speech when referring to the speech.” Congress declared war on Japan an hour after Roosevelt finished his speech, bringing the United States into World War II. Few American political addresses are more well-known than this one, widely regarded as one of the greatest ever delivered. Discover how the unexpected tragedy and impending challenge facing this nation amid the lengthy racial conflicts impacted young African American sailors before and during World War II in the Pacific and at home, against the backdrop of the worst disaster in the United States’ 165-year history. This dreadful day claimed the lives of more than 2,4000 and approximately 1,200 wounded American sailors and service members of many colors and nationalities, plunging the United States into the world’s most significant war.
This publication is about a kid who enlisted in the Navy on July 19, 1940, fresh out of a southern segregated high school, and found himself over a year later at the start of World War II for the United States. He had hopes and dreams of seeing the world while protecting his country. He was the oldest of seven children who wanted to be the ‘example’ for all the others and do something great. He also wanted to escape all the babies and crying children in the house!
Inspiration for this book was also found in Richard E. Miller’s definitive account of African American messmen in the United States Navy from 1932 to 1943. Miller describes his work as “a revisionist approach that attempts more than anything else to elevate the messmen (the stereotypical victims of Navy racism) to the heights of heroic adoration they deserved as American warriors but never experienced” (p. vii). To some extent, this history honors the contributions of these Black sailors to the Navy. Richard Miller’s history of African Americans in the Navy from 1932 to 1943 is a realistic study of an essential part of American history that is comprehensive, empathetic, and trustworthy, quoted by Temple University’s David Farber.

Sujets

• Biography
• Military
• Autobiography
• 1941

Informations

• Publié par: LifeRich Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781489744524
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A ROPE FROM ABOVE
AT PEARL HARBOR
 
 
 
 
 
Frank Bland
 
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Frank Bland.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
 
LifeRich Publishing
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www.liferichpublishing.com
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Scripture marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4450-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4451-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4452-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918605
 
 
LifeRich Publishing rev. date:   11/09/2022
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
 
Chapter 1       Unveiling the Past
Chapter 2       Early on Sunday Morning
Chapter 3       Live or Die
Chapter 4       Continued Discrimination
Chapter 5       Getting Away from War
Chapter 6       Back on Board the USS Mugford
Chapter 7       USS Dobbin
Chapter 8       Dorie Miller’s Heroism
Chapter 9       Honorable Mention to Those Who Served
Chapter 10     The Negro in the Navy
Chapter 11     Service on Ships, Submarines, and Ashore
Chapter 12     In Closing
 
About the Author
Bibliography
PREFACE
This book captures the challenging times in my father’s life before and during World War II. Thanks to God’s majesty and grace, the humble epiphanies in these recollections are now in print. A blend of sources from this period reinforced the conditions, standards, and circumstances. Once Dad started talking, he would share history about unforeseen encounters in and out of combat, including the emotional state he could recall. Although often shocking, his revealing testimonies would close with grateful tears of joy from those listening.
My goal is not to minimize or distort his wartime experiences or to aim at specific people, places, or entities. It is essential to expose the richness of a victorious life, despite the dire conditions and graphic descriptions at the hands of death during the war years, by making the truth known.
The current age cannot and will not erase the truth, which is meant for future generations to understand in its entirety.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Throughout this journey, inspiration came from my loving wife, parents, grandparents, and others who have now entered the celestial realm. Thanks to Ms. Shore (seventh-grade science teacher), Dr. Morris (college adviser), Mr. Pollard (mentor), Major General Chambers, Reverend Dr. Woodson, and many others who imparted knowledge and understanding. Gratitude and appreciation to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, for the many years of camaraderie and fellowship they shared with my dad.
Gratitude to Jon, SFC Retired, US Army combat medic, for sharing daily words of inspiration without ceasing. Jon shared the following experience:
Several years ago, a wounded soldier once said while enemy bullets were flying around us to prepare some lemonade amid a combat firefight in a foreign location. While showing a degree of calmness, I noticed his hands [were] saturated in blood. As a combat medic, the questions were asked, “Where does it hurt, what are you talking about, and what do you see in the sky, man? This soldier’s eyes were so intense at that moment he could look through concrete.
The soldier said calmly, “When life provides lemons, just make some lemonade, dude,” as he grinned at me, even though I was also heavily drenched in sweat, tears, and blood. He broke loose, jumped up from the stretcher and took off running into combat. I never saw him again. No matter where we find ourselves, we are always grateful for the messengers God sends us to get us through the tribulation.
INTRODUCTION
This book is to inspire, to be a source of hope, and to show how the dazzling light of almighty God reigns supreme in horrible combat situations. While attending church in North Carolina as a kid, my dad began to see how God makes a way out of no pathway. As believers in Him, dreams of traveling the world, meeting people he’d never met and discovering various cultures were on the horizon. This book is dedicated to the military service of family members, friends and veterans who helped to keep our nation and its people safe with truth and justice.
Imagine, as a teenager, only being able to view yourself in a box for the rest of your life and being constrained to being around people who looked only like you. Consider going back to a period when this nation and its citizens behaved differently from how they do now. How about reading the incredible, largely forgotten, and unrecognized adventures of an African American US Navy sailor?
George Bland joined the US Navy on July 19, 1940, following his graduation from Williston High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, which was segregated by law. He served in the navy honorably until his release on August 22, 1946. As a nineteen-year-old messman sailor aboard the USS West Virginia , he found himself at the start of World War II on a Sunday morning in 1941. The world has never been the same since that dreadful day, as we must either accept now or realize it later.
Before and during the World War, my father served in the US Navy as a mess steward/waiter/cook second class. After boot camp, his first assignment, as a mess steward, was on the battleship the USS Mississippi , which was stationed in Pearl Harbor. By mid-1941, he was reassigned to the USS West Virginia . After the sinking of the West Virginia on December 7, 1941, orders assigned him to a destroyer, the USS Mugford . This destroyer and many others of several classes and grades became known as the Greyhounds. Combat on these fast movers was constant and ferocious. It is hard to imagine how the crews survived. Later, near the war’s end, he was assigned to a destroyer tender, the USS Dobbin , still in the Pacific Theater of operations. Seeing and surviving these life-changing circumstances led to an epiphany for him.
It was life-altering for me to hear of the trials, tribulations, and victories that used derogatory language, which mirrored the prejudices and attitudes of the time. With this book, I hope to motivate readers to understand how limited goals can be changed to produce outstanding outcomes. I encourage readers to begin or continue their ancestor—heroes and heroines—research. Whatever generation to which the ancestor belonged—the “Greatest Generation” or any other—no “his-story” or “her-story” will be mentioned in textbooks, archives, or mainstream media. It continues to be a never-ending quest to find more records, ship logs, and other pieces of information on him or her and other African American WWII service members.
There is much more to learn from and about our ancestors’ sacrifices in many parts of the country where there are few or no records. We should never forget how America was saved from oblivion during this turbulent period by “we, the people.” We must all stand on common ground to learn from the past, so as not to repeat the tragedies of yesterday.
In my younger years, Dad never talked much about his time in the navy. He came within inches of death many times during the war, but that was a very huge mystery to our family. According to our 104-year-old aunt, when Dad erupted into a rage at times, it was because he was “shell shocked” from the war. This unknown part about my dad lived in a place of intrigue for me. As the years progressed, he would provide short stories and limited viewing through his so-called porthole to the navy. As a treat, we received complimentary VIP seats from the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association to view a sneak preview of the movie Pearl Harbor , released in 2001. This book is dedicated to why dad was unable and refused to sit through the entire film. It didn’t take too long after viewing some of the horrific and realistic attack scenes on the morning of December 7, 1941, that I witnessed a change in my father. As we sat on emotional edge with the movie theater’s amplifiers screaming out the pinging of bullets, explosions, and screams, dad started sweating abundantly. I wondered what was happening to my father as he wiped his forehead continuously and started coughing without ceasing. At this point being concerned for his health, we stepped out into the theater lobby to get fresh air and a soda to calm it down. Moments later, dad was adamant about not seeing another scene from this realistic movie and demanded that I take him home now.