World War II Chronicle: January 6, 1943
Click here for TODAY’S NEWSPAPER
George Fielding Eliot column on page 10… The famous scientist George Washington Carver has died. Carver was born near Joplin, Mo., and his parents were both slaves. A Liberty ship named in his honor is launched in May. Carver worked at Tuskegee University, where the Tuskegee Airmen are in final preparations for combat. Lt. Col. Noel F. Parrish, the former Director of Training at the Tuskegee Advanced Flying School was promoted to command the school last month and he will be lobbying for a combat assignment for his pilots.
Pictured above is Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first black general in American military history. Davis Sr. was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Volunteer Infantry in 1898, then enlisted in the 9th Cavalry Regiment. He rose to sergeant major, then was commissioned again while in the Philippines. Before World War II he commanded the 369th “Harlem Hellfighters” Infantry Regiment. Davis Sr. is currently assigned to the Inspector General’s office.
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the first black cadet at West Point since 1889, and he graduated 35th in his class. When he was commissioned, he and his father were the only two African American officers in the entire U.S. Army. He was the first black cadet to solo in an Army Air Force aircraft, and was recently named commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron…
Speaking of father-and-son: Adm. Chester W. Nimitz Sr. is pictured on page 31 pinning the Silver Star on his son, Lt. Chester W. Nimitz Jr. The younger Nimitz is a submarine officer aboard USS Sturgeon. He will earn two more Silver Stars and the Navy Cross, and retires as a rear admiral…
And speaking of submariners: the St. Louis Browns have reportedly dealt Paul Dean to the Washington Nationals for Elden “Submariner” Auker (see sports section on page 44). We wrote about Auker back in 1941, but we can add that he lost Game 7 of the 1934 World Series to Paul’s brother Dizzy. Auker chooses to go into the defense industry instead, working for an abrasives company that hones gun barrels, ultimately retiring as its president. Paul plays three games for Washington in 1943 before joining the Army Air Force and managing Air Transport Command’s baseball team…
Also on page 44, Joe DiMaggio’s baseball future remains uncertain as he is about to be reclassified 1-A… The Touchdown Club awarded the nation’s best college football players at their seventh-annual event (see page 45).
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 6 January 1943. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1943-01-06/ed-1/
