HELPED TO DESEGREGATE THE NAVY DURING WORLD WAR II
Music has a long tradition within the U.S. military dating back to the American Revolutionary War. During the early days of World War II music played a role for some service members, helping to open the door to desegregation in the Navy. Following World War I the Navy refused to admit African Americans until 1937 but even then the only opportunities open to African Americans were menial positions in galley service. President Roosevelt attempted to nudge the Navy toward integration in June 1941 by suggestion the placement of “good Negro bands” aboard battleships but it was not until World War II began that his suggestion materialized. In May 1942 the all-black B-1 Band was organized and assigned to the Navy preflight school at the University of North Carolina. This was the first of more than 100 African American bands in the Navy during World War II where the members were permitted to receive ratings other than galley work.
MUS2 Robert Carter was one of the Navy men who acquired such an assignment. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 26, 1915, the 14th child in a family of 15. He grew up and lived his whole life on land his grandfather bought in the 1890s. He was given few opportunities during his early school days when he attended a two-room school house for black children but as a student at Sumner High School in St. Louis, where he graduated in 1933, he began playing the trombone. After graduation he began playing professionally in bands aboard riverboats on the Ohio River and in bands in St. Louis where he became a member of the local musicians union. In September 1942 a Navy Chief Petty Officer came to St. Louis to recruit musicians for the numerous bands that were being formed. Carter, who had married in 1940, was considered one of the finest trombone musicians in St. Louis and he enlisted in the Navy as a musician. He was first stationed at Lambert Field in St. Louis where he recalled, “All our band did was play music. We played for bond rallies, we played for cadets when they paraded, and we played concerts.” However, his 23-piece band was broken up when they refused a latrine cleaning duty and Carter was transferred to Pearl Harbor where he was assigned as a member of the B-1 Band, the largest Navy band in the Pacific, the largest posting of African Americans in the Navy, and known as the “Admiral’s Band,” the star of the V-J parade in Honolulu when the war ended.
After his discharge he returned to St. Louis and obtained a job with the federal government. His son said, “My father decided that being a professional musician was not going to be enough money to raise a family with. He decided to have a day job and try to give his children a better life than he had.” Indeed, his children attended a parochial grade school and private high schools, and two went on to law school. His son also said, “There was no doubt that music was a deep love in his life and he wanted to do everything he could to see that we developed.” Accordingly, Carter taught each of his children to play musical instruments. He also remained active in the Musicians’ Union Local 197 in St. Louis, serving for many years on the executive board, as vice-president and then as president, all while continuing to play in jazz and Dixieland bands during evenings and on weekends.
Although many reports have been written that other African Americans were the first to achieve assignments in the Navy other than galley work, historians have substantiated that records establish that the members of the all black B-1 Band are indeed the recipients of this honored distinction. As one B-1 Band member said, “The next step wouldn’t have happened without the first step. We played with pride. We did our best everywhere we went.” MUS2 Carter died on December 11, 2013, at the age of 98 and was survived by two children.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
