Friday, July 03, 2009
Admiral who broke Navy color barrier honored
Have you heard?
JoAnne Poindexter
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Former Roanoker Alma Clark Gravely described christening the Navy's newest guided missile destroyer as very exciting but said the pomp and circumstance was exhausting.
In May, Gravely, of Haymarket, broke a bottle over the hull of the USS Gravely, named for her late husband, Vice Adm. Samuel Lee Gravely. The ceremony was held in Pascagoula, Miss., where the Aegis guided missile destroyer was built over a four-year span.
Naval officials say the destroyer is perhaps the most advanced ship on water and will help the Navy dominate the seas for 30 years with its high-tech weapons, combat and anti-submarine warfare systems and sensor technology.
Samuel Gravely, a Richmond native, would love the ship and be proud of it, but he would be modest, his wife said in a telephone interview.
"Inside, he would be very, very excited and appreciative and feel honored, but outside he wouldn't express it," said Gravely, a Christiansburg native who lived briefly in Roanoke and was a substitute teacher with Roanoke City Schools before marrying.
Samuel Gravely was 82 when he died in October 2004, after a stellar naval career. He broke the color barrier as he worked his way through the Navy ranks and became the Navy's first black admiral. He commanded the U.S. 3rd fleet.
After christening the ship, Alma Gravely, her children and other family members also participated in a ceremony to name a Northern Virginia elementary school after the admiral on his June 4 birthday.
Although the Gravelys didn't live in the Roanoke Valley after their marriage, Alma Gravely said they frequently visited her parents and siblings, who had moved from the Christiansburg area. She still has nieces and nephews in Roanoke.
Gravely said the christening ceremony in mid-May "was very, very moving" and gave her an opportunity to become reacquainted with some and meet new military personnel.
She said because of her husband's career, several Navy organizations have made her feel "just like I'm one of them," and she attends many military functions.
Many in the Navy, "particularly the black community, still love him and me," she said.
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Robert Brammer of Roanoke and Jennifer Price-Singleton of Salem are among the 28 pilots who were recognized for completing the Virginia Aviation Ambassadors Program.
The Virginia Department of Aviation recognized the pilots during its Virginia Regional Festival of Flight in Suffolk.
The department of aviation encourages pilots to experience all of Virginia's public-use airports, visit aviation museums, participate in at least one safety seminar and attend the Virginia Regional Festival of Flight. To participate in the program, pilots must get their Virginia Aviation Ambassador passport stamped at locations among those listed above, earning recognition along the way.
