Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. (June 4, 1922 – October 22, 2004) was an African-American pioneer in the United States Navy — the first African American in the U.S. Navy to serve aboard a fighting ship as an officer, the first to command a Navy ship, the first fleet commander, and the first to become a flag officer, retiring as a vice admiral. Following his military retirement, Gravely settled in rural Haymarket, Virginia, and worked as a consultant. After suffering a stroke, Gravely died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on October 22, 2004. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
In Richmond, the street on which Gravely grew up was renamed “Admiral Gravely Boulevard” in 1977. The destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107), commissioned in 2010, was named in his honor. #blackhistoryfacts#blackhistory #VaProud #Richmond #Glory#whentheygongiveusthebluesuits
Article By Richard Jackson @nyceflix
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Samuel Lee Gravely Jr.
