Monday, February 28, 2022
Today’s Black History Month moment brought to you by POCUCharles Jackson French stood 5’8” tall and weighed 195 pounds. He was been born on Sept. 25, 1919, in Foreman, Arkansas. After his parents died, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska to live with his sister. On December 4, 1937, French enlisted in the Steward/Messman branch of the United States Navy – the only positions open to African Americans at the time. French was assigned to the USS Houston which was stationed in Hawaii and cruised the Pacific Ocean with stops in the Philippines and Shanghai, to name a few. After his four year commitment ended in 1941, French returned to Omaha, Nebraska, but four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, French re-enlisted as a Steward’s Mate 1st class. He joined the crew of the USS Gregory in March of 1942. When the USS Gregory was hit and sunk by Japanese fire, French found a raft and loaded wounded sailors onto it. French then successfully swam through the night for 6-8 hours pulling a raft of 15 wounded sailors with a rope around his waist in shark infested waters. French successfully brought these men to safety on the shores of the Solomon Islands. He was the first African American swimmer to receive the Navy Medal of Heroism in 1943.
