Officer's White Service Cap 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: Officer's White Service Cap worn by Ensign Cassin Craig.
label: Description
content: The off-white fabric hat has a black band around the bottom. In the center if the front of the hat there is a silver-colored metal eagle in front of a black background. The eagle is standing on top of a silver-colored shield with stars and stripes. There are gold-colored crossed anchors behind the eagle and shield There is a black visor in the front of the hat. There is a gold chin strap attached to the hat above the visor. There are two gold-colored gilt buttons, one on either side of the chin strap. The buttons depict an eagle perched on an anchor, surrounded by thirteen stars and a rope.
label: Description
content: There is a brown band around the inside of the hat. There is a small brown fabric bow in the front of the interior of the hat. There is a label sewn onto the top of the interior of the hat. It has a logo with a ship and a rope. There is text inside the rope which reads [NAVAL UNIFORM SERVICE / Under Supervision U.S. Navy]. There is smudged text below the rope. There are several areas of discoloration on the fabric part of the hat, and the visor is cracking and peeling.
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: 2024.113.3.1
objectType: label: Type
content: caps (headgear)
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, leather, metal, synthetic fiber, thread, and ink
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 4 1/2 × 11 × 11 in. (11.4 × 27.9 × 27.9 cm)