Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Silas Gross Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Cold War; World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Unit of Service: USS Talamanca (AF 15); USS Comstock (LSD 19); USS Stone County (LST 1141); USS Hancock (CV 19)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Petty Officer Third Class; Seaman First Class
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/90449
While many northern-born African Americans, particularly those serving in the south, were taken aback by the racism they found in the military during World War II, Silas Gross was well acquainted with segregation and limited opportunities by the time he entered the Navy. Growing up in Lutcher, Louisiana, where Jim Crow was a fact of life, he worked harvesting rice and sugar, and then in the Higgins boat factory in New Orleans, before he was drafted in 1943. Restricted to serving as a cook, he helped feed the troops aboard the USS Talamanca, a supply ship, as it moved through the Pacific Theater, and established field kitchens on Guadalcanal and in the Philippines.
Interview / Recording
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PlayReaction of his friends and neighbors to Pearl Harbor; deciding to get a job in New Orleans at the Higgins shipyard making Higgins boats and landing barges. 00:04:36.0 - 00:07:39.0
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PlayRoutine segregation and racism while growing up in Lutcher, Louisiana; interactions between whites and blacks. 00:27:03.0 - 00:28:17.0
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PlayInduction into the Navy; riding the train with a group of Tuskegee Airmen; experiencing segregation aboard the train. 00:38:49.0 - 00:41:56.0
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PlayLanding on Guadalcanal aboard a Higgins ship; digging his foxhole; building a field kitchen. 00:54:09.0 - 00:58:24.0
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PlayPride in his service; coming home from service to segregated life in New Orleans. 01:26:11.0 - 01:27:57.0
More Resources
About this Item
Title
- Silas Gross Collection
Names
- Gross, Silas
- Veterans Museum at Balboa Park
- Appleton, Rick
Home State
- California
Headings
- - Gross, Silas
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
- - Cold War -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- Black or African American
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Unit of Service: USS Talamanca (AF 15); USS Comstock (LSD 19)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Seaman First Class
- Dates of Service: 1943-1946
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran served as a cook and mess attendant.
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Cold War
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Unit of Service: USS Stone County (LST 1141); USS Hancock (CV 19)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Petty Officer Third Class
- Dates of Service: 1946-1966
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-07-23; 2012)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2013-03)
- Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2013; 2013)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/90449
Cite as
- Silas Gross Collection (AFC/2001/001/90449), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Bainbridge, Maryland
- Camp Shoemaker, California
- Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands)
- Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
- Pacific Ocean
- Pacific Theater
- Philippines