After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1941 and being commissioned as a Naval Reserve officer, Paul D. Richmond was involved in the training of new recruits at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station north of Chicago. In early 1944, 16 black sailors reported to Great Lakes to undergo a two-and-a-half-month training program to become officers. Richmond devised the curriculum for the black men and supervised their training. They were commissioned in March 1944 and subsequently became known as the Golden Thirteen.
In his excerpt, Richmond discusses the creation of the officer training curriculum put in place for the group that would go on to become the Golden Thirteen.
For Paul D. Richmond’s Oral History click here.
To read more about the Naval Institute Oral History Program, click here.
