Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-03-18
Honor Of Negro Race
In War Is Reported
Upheld by Many
Fighting Holden Family
Of 9 Cited as Example
Of Service to Nation
BY JOHN A. MOROSO, Sd,

WITH THE ATLANTIC FLEET.
March l8.-The hail of japanese
bombs and torpedoes that destroyed
| the 32.600-ton battleship Arizona at
Pearl Harbor also killed five BROTH
ers of the fighting Holden family
an orphaned group of nine colored
boys.
On September IA, 1912, Warren
Holden, l8, of New York City en-
listed in the Navy as an apprentice
/ seaman.
I'D like to get on gun crew and
get over there to get few Japs for
my brothers who didn't have
chance to defend themselves last
December he told recruiting off,
GERS.
Young Holden has three brothers
in the Army. His father served in
/ the Navy in the last war. Aunts
and uncles helped raise the Holden
boys after their parents died.
These youngsters. like many other
/ colored persons. have been uphold
ing the honor of the Negro race in
! American armed forces in this war.
| Several have been decorated. I have
| heard many stories of their bravery
in my travels with the fleet.
Story of Tracy Marcus.
There was Tracy Marcus, 10. of
! Mullins, S. c., meSSman aboard
| the 840-ton seaplane tender Gannet.
The Gannet was blowing along in
the Atlantic off Bermuda last sum-
mer when torpedo struck her
amidships She went down in four
minutes but so seamen managed to
get over the side and onto life RATS.
Lord have mercy on us, on our
souls. Save us from the sea-" said
a voice in the pitch-black darkness.
1t. Francis E. Neussle, skipper of
the Gannet, knew that it was Tracy
Marcus praying, and he knew that
young Marcus could sing spirituals.
He commanded the lad to sing and
the air soon rang with such songs
as Just Beyond the River Jordan"
Everybody That's a-Living Got to
Die" and Il Got Shoes"
The singing was infectious. 1t.
Nuessle Joined in and pretty soon
everybody pitched in. They still were
singing hours later when planes
and rescue ships hove into sight
The destroyer Gregory was con-
verified into an auxiliary transport
and sent to Guadalcanal. Two Jap
cruisers and three destroyers cor
nered her last summer and sent her
to the bottom with shellfire Sur
vivors plunged into the water-a
shark infested area.
A colored lad named Fred French,
20. son of Mrs. Mile French of
Newark, N. j., was aboard one of the
overcrowded life RATS. When he
realized that the raft was drifting
away from shore, he tied a line
around his waist and dived into the
water with these words:
Tn going to tow this old crate
in"
French Was Still Swimming.
Six hours later a barge picked up
the men on the raft. Young French,
exhaused, was still swimming
When the Arizona was sunk at
Pearl Harbor 213-pound colored
messman, Dorie Miller, %, of Waco,
lex, manned a machinegun al
though he had never had any formal
training with the weapon. He fired
at Jap planes until his ammunition
was exhausted. He was trying to
reload the gun when officers ordered
him to abandon ship.
Navy Secretary Frank Knox COM
mended Messman Miller for his
distinguished devotion to duty,
extraordinary courage and disregard
for his own personal safety during
the attack"
While at the side of his captain
on the bridge" the commentator
read, Miller, despite enemy strafing
and bombing, and in the face of a
serious fire, assisted in moving his
captain, who had been mortally
wounded, to place of greater
safety. and later manned and oper-
ated machine gun until ordered
to leave the bridge" Young Miller
is the son of share troopers operat-
ing 28-acre farm near Waco.
l had a good chance to observe
colored boys in the Navy during the
invasion of North Africa I found
them courageous and conscientious.
1t was the job of our messmen to
pass the ammunition. They were
assigned to the magazine, deep in
the bowels of a ship-a hazardous
place to be during a torpedo strike.
These boys sweated down there for
almost eight hours and when our
battle was over they came topside
and served us food, although they