John Ponder, an African-American born in Alabama, was never criticized or complained about his participation in the United States Army when he was just over 20 years old.
He raised a family, had offspring and acted as a good citizen until his death in 1997. It was then that his son, Larry, while rummaging through his papers discovered the great secret that his father hid .
He learned that he had been one of the members of the so-called Philadelphia 15. That was the name he gave to the group made up of fifteen black sailors from the warship USS Philadelphia, based in Pearl Harbor.
In 1940, just over a year before the Japanese bombing that brought the US into World War II, all fifteen wrote a letter that they sent to a newspaper intended for a non-white audience. In their letter they detailed the abuses, indignities and humiliations they had to endure because of the color of their skin.
They were victims of a big lie. When they enlisted, the Navy made them a promise that with training and dedication they would access destinations that would allow them to move up the ladder. They soon realized that such opportunities did not exist.
They were forced to act as servants for the officers, with the only assignment to “serve the tables and make the beds”.
In their letter they denounced this situation. As a result, they suffered retaliation. Some had to face confinement in the dungeon and all were expelled from the corps with the ignominy of being deemed “unfit for service.” They received “undesirable licenses”, which today is called dishonor.
His complaint disappeared amid those tumultuous times of struggle against Nazism, but the injustice and stigma has endured for more than eight decades.
These documents that Larry found led to a legal initiative that culminated a few days ago in a ceremony in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes, when relatives of the Ponder brothers, on behalf of the rest, accepted apologies for racist treatment their ancestors received. They received promotion as graduates with full honors.
“To you and the rest of the family of the Philadelphia 15, I wish to extend my sincerest regret for the treatment they received while wearing the uniform and for the long time that has passed without having repaired this dishonor,” said Franklyn Parker, assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, addressing the Ponders, seated in the front row. Everything indicates that not one is still alive. The Philadelphia was confiscated in 1951.
“This decision was a mistake and, without a doubt, an injustice was committed and today we try to repair it as far as possible”, he added.
Instead of being able to choose their destiny, as was the case with their white colleagues, they noted that they were only allowed to work as service personnel. During the six months prior to their denunciation, these black sailors routinely received the punishment of three days of confinement on bread and water for their protests.
“We sincerely hope to discourage any black boy who has planned to join the Navy from making the mistake we made,” they explained in the letter. “The only thing you’ll become will be boatmen, waiters and dishwashers”, they remarked.
During this time, the abuses they suffered were not an aberration in the Navy and other armed forces. In 1944, Marines reportedly threw smoke grenades into a rioting Black Marine camp in Guam, an incident that was not revealed to the public until several years later. In 1945, a thousand black sailors in a battalion in California went on strike in protest because none of them were being promoted to a position.
President Harry Truman ended segregation in the military in 1948. It took until 2021 for a black officer, retired General Lloyd J. Austin III, to head the Pentagon. Larry Ponder assured that his father would be proud.
