Thomas Francis Darden Jr. (September 8, 1900 – June 17, 1961) was a U.S. Navy officer who achieved the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, the commander of a Navy light cruiser during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Since ...

from July 7, 1949 through February 23, 1951. Darden also served on the staffs of two U.S. Navy admirals during the

War in the Pacific The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

: rear admirals

Henry Hughes Hough Henry Hughes Hough (January 8, 1871 – September 9, 1943) was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy and one-time military Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. In 1923 he was the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He comm ...

and

Thomas L. Sprague Thomas Lamison Sprague (October 2, 1894 – September 17, 1972) was a Vice admiral (United States), vice admiral of the United States Navy, who served during World War II as commander of the aircraft carrier and took part in the battles of Batt ...

. Darden served on and commanded warships, and then in the 1940s was appointed head of the "Special Programs Unit". This unit trained

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

for accelerated promotion in the Navy; Darden himself advocated for

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

in the Navy. Darden also served as the last military governor of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

, and since February 1951, his successors have all been civilians.

Life

Darden was born on September 8, 1900 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He died on June 17, 1961. He is buried at the

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Naval career

While he was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, Darden served as the aide-de-camp and the flag secretary for Rear Admiral

. For a period of time following World War II, Darden served as an assistant to

Chief of Naval Personnel The Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP) is responsible for overall manpower readiness for the United States Navy. As such the CNP is the highest ranking human resources officer in the Navy. The CNP also serves as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Ma ...

Rear Admiral

. Darden took command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

USS ''Benham'' (DD-397)on February 2, 1939. Then, during the War in the Pacific, Darden commanded the light cruiser USS ''Denver'' (CL-58). In the latter 1940s, Darden headed the "Special Programs Unit", a naval unit intended to address the continuing role of African Americans in the U.S. Navy. Darden advocated integrating Black personnel into the U.S. Navy. He and fellow naval officers in the program developed a course to prepare African American

enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States mi ...

for promotion to the rank of

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

. Many graduates of this program were given priority promotion, even when specific openings did not exist for them.

Governorship

Darden was the last military governor of

. Darden took office on July 7, 1949, succeeding Captain

Vernon Huber Vernon Huber (August 28, 1899 – June 17, 1967) was a United States Navy rear admiral, and the 36th governor of American Samoa from April 22, 1947, to June 15, 1949. He was born in Philadelphia, Illinois, and was appointed to the United Sta ...

, and he left the office on February 23, 1951, to be succeeded by civilian governors from then on.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darden, Thomas Francis 1900 births 1961 deaths Governors of American Samoa United States Navy captains People from Brooklyn United States Navy personnel of World War II Military personnel from New York City Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery