Navy Officer’s Service Blue Coat worn by Lt. Cassin Craig
date: label: Date
content: 1943-1946
name: label: Manufactured by
content: United States Navy, American, founded 1775
label: Worn by
content: Cassin Winchester Craig, American, died 2012
notes: label: Caption
content: Cassin Winchester Craig enlisted in the Navy in 1942 while a student at Haverford College. He trained as a Navy supply officer at Harvard Business School and was assigned to the USS Mason (DE529) in November 1944, where he served for almost a year. The USS Mason was one of two U.S. Navy ships with African American crews to serve in World War II. An Evarts-class destroyer escort (DE), the Mason was designed to escort convoys and attack enemy submarines. When the Mason was first commissioned, all officers and chief petty officers, including Lt. Craig, were white. Navy officer ranks weren’t opened to African Americans until 1944, when the first African American Navy officers – thirteen men known as the Golden Thirteen – were commissioned in March 1944. One member of the Golden Thirteen, James Edward Hair, served on board the USS Mason during the war, the first African American officer to do so. Lieutenant Hair joined the Mason in March 1945, four months after Craig. They served together on the Mason until the ship was decommissioned in October 1945, when they transferred to different ships. Both men were discharged from the Navy in 1946 following the end of the war.
label: Description
content: Navy uniform jacket worn by Lt. Cassin Craig.
label: Description
content: The Officer’s Service Blue Coat has peak lapels, which feature upturned edges ending in a point. The stripes on the sleeves represent the rank of Junior Grade Lieutenant. There are two gold-colored stripes on either sleeve. There is an embroidered Supply Corps insignia above the top stripe on each sleeve depicting three oak leaves and three acorns. There are five gold-colored gilt buttons on the front of the jacket, in two side-by-side vertical rows. There is a space for a missing sixth button on the top proper right side. The buttons depict an eagle holding an anchor in its talons and surrounded by stars.
label: Description
content: There are three horizontally rectangular pins above the proper left breast pocket. They are pinned next to each other and are touching each other. From proper right to proper left they are: a World War II Victor Medal ribbon bar, a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal ribbon bar, and an American Campaign Medal ribbon bar. There is a pocket on either side of the jacket at the hips. The inside of the jacket is lined in a different fabric.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Military Uniforms
label: Exhibition
content: Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pamela Craig Delaney in memory of Lieutenant Cassin Craig and Jeannie Craig
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2024.113.1
objectType: label: Type
content: jackets
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: polyester, wool, metal, thread, and synthetic fiber
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (width shoulder to shoulder): 33 × 18 in. (83.8 × 45.7 cm)