Sylvia Johnson Cooper

Someone Paved the Way Sylvia Johnson Cooper

This is a true story about Mess Attendant Roosevelt Flenard (mess boy) while serving in the United States Navy. This story, taken mostly from journals and memory, depicts the things Flenard encountered from southern officers and other southern sailors in the United States Navy. Flenard kept a running log of all events and dates during his six year stint with the United States Navy. This six-year period is about Flenard serving on six different ships from peace time to war to peace time again. Flenard was a mess attendant during air battles, invasions, and twice torpedoed. On all six United States ships that Flenard served were the USS Arkansas, the USS North Carolina, the USS Maryland, the USS Bountiful, the USS Argonne, and the USS Endymion. The racial policy was the same: if you were a black you were second rate, and your purpose was to serve; to serve only; nothing more and certainly nothing less. Some names have been changed to protect the innocents.