
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 14, 1994                   TAG: 9404140332
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO                                 LENGTH: Medium

NAVY CROSS FINALLY AWARDED TO BLACK SAILOR

A black sailor who stuck to his gun when a Japanese kamikaze plane dived into his ship nearly 50 years ago finally got the Navy Cross that racism denied him for so long.

Eugene Smith, 69, smiled when the medal for heroism was pinned on his chest Tuesday at the Treasure Island Naval Base.

"I'm not bitter. It was a different Navy then," he said.

Smith belonged to an all-black gun crew on the USS Intrepid during World War II.

The carrier was off the Philippines in 1944 when a Japanese suicide pilot aimed his plane at the flight deck.

"Even though towards the last it was apparent that the plane was going to strike their gun tub," Smith and his 19 crewmates kept firing their 20mm guns, a Navy report said. "Not one man deserted his gun or attempted to escape."

The plane smashed into the tub, spraying the sailors with shrapnel and fuel. Nine died and six were wounded. Smith was burned on his face and hands.

The survivors were told they would get the Navy Cross, awarded for "the highest spirit, courage and devotion to duty," and second only to the Medal of Honor. But they ended up with a lesser medal.

One survivor, Alonzo Swann, claimed they didn't get the Navy Cross because they were black. A federal court agreed, and late last year an admiral presented the Navy Cross to Swann on board the Intrepid, now a museum in New York.

"He's the one who fought for it," Smith said. "We were first given the Bronze Star. I thought that was a high award."

Last week, 87-year-old shipmate James Dockery received his Navy Cross. The Navy said there could be more.

by CNB