Navy Officer’s Service Blue Pants 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 pants worn by Ensign Cassin Craig.
label: Description
content: The Officer’s Service Blue Pants have wide pant legs. There is a metal zipper in the front, and there are two interior buttons that close above the zipper. The interior of the waistband is lined in tan fabric. There are four tan buttons at the back of the interior of the waistband and a v-shaped notch in the center back of the waistband. There are four pockets total, two hip pockets and two back pockets.
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: 2024.113.2
objectType: label: Type
content: trousers
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, plastic, and thread
label: Dimensions
content: L x W: 40 × 15 1/2 in. (101.6 × 39.4 cm)