On 15 March 1947,one month to the day before Jackie Robinson became the first black player in baseball’s major leagues, John Wesley Lee Jr. became the first African American to be commissioned as a regular officer in the Navy, and that is,no longer a reservist. Many citizens of this country made it clear that they did not welcome Robinson’s arrival in baseball. He received many death threats and other pieces of despise mail. John Lee achieved his milestone without encountering hostility, and that was at least in part the result of how the Navy arranged things for him. After... Read the rest of this entry »
Source: navalhistory.org