FIRST -- Black man from Alabama to die in WWII, Birmingham AL - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Mess Attendant First Class Julius Ellsberry, US Navy, a Birmingham native, was killed on board the Battleship Oklahoma (BB 37) during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He was the first black Alabamian to die in WWII, and also the first Birmingham native to die in World War II.

His memorial is located on the southeast corner of Kelly Ingram Park. 20 years later, Kelly Ingram Park would become the epicenter of the Birmingham Alabama civil rights movement.

The memorial consists of a gray granite pillar engraved as follows:

[Relief of the official Navy service record photo of MA 1/c Ellsberry]

In dedication to
JULIUS ELLSBERRY

The first black Alabama man
* to die in World War II *
born Birmingham, Ala., 1922

Enlisted in the U.S. Navy, 1940

First Class Mate [sic] Attendant
Aboard Battleship Oklahoma
in the Battle of Pearl Harbor
Did sacrifice his life to save
His shipmates, December 7, 1941"

Note by Benchmark Blasterz: There has never been a Mate Attendant rating in the US Navy. However, there was at the time a Mess Attendant (MAtt) rating.

The modern equivalent to the 1940s MAtt rating in today's Navy is Culinary Specialist (CS). In the 1940s, the U.S. Navy, like all the other branches of the US Armed Forces, was segregated on the basis of race. The rating of Mess Attendant was one of the few ratings open to African-Americans who wanted to serve in the Navy -- and it was closed to white sailors. The US military would not be desegregated until 1948.

Also please note that a Mess Attendant First Class was NOT a petty officer (a first class petty officer is an E-6, a senior enlisted man). MAtt 1/c was instead an E-3, equivalent the modern junior enlisted Seaman rank.

See: (visit link)

FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group Date of FIRST: 12/07/1941 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/17/2019 Benchmark Blasterz visited it