Carl Eugene Kimmons (April 10, 1920 – August 4, 2016) was an American naval officer and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

submariner who served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1940 to 1970. Kimmons was the first person who had enlisted as a mess attendant to serve in every enlisted

pay grade A pay grade is a unit in systems of monetary compensation for employment. It is commonly used in public service, both civil and military, but also for companies of the private sector. Pay grades facilitate the employment process by providing a f ...

from E1 through E9 and end up a commissioned officer. He retired as a full lieutenant after 30 years of service (1940–1970).

Early life and service

Carl Kimmons was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

, United States on April 10, 1920. He graduated from high school in 1939 and worked for the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

. He enlisted in the

in 1940, when racial segregation and discrimination limited African American sailors to low-ranked positions. Kimmons became a mess attendant, feeding and cleaning up after the white officers. After undergoing basic training at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, he was assigned to the destroyer ''USS McFarland'' in California in September 1940, where he took on administrative duties such as typing reports and maintaining the ship's log.

Combat service

In 1942, Kimmons requested

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

duty and was assigned to the USS ''Plunger'' (SS-179). From 1942 to late 1944, Kimmons served on three submarines and made seven war patrols. His first four patrols took place on the ''Plunger'', where Kimmons was among the crew members responsible for loading torpedoes and manning the .50 caliber deck gun. In November 1943, Kimmons joined the new

Balao-class submarine The ''Balao'' class is a design of United States Navy submarine that was used during World War II, and with 120 boats completed, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier , the boats had slight int ...

USS ''Parche'' (SS-384) and made his three final war patrols. On July 31, 1943, the ''Parche'' attacked an

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

convoy, sinking two enemy ships and damaging three others in the space of 48 minutes. The American commander, Lawson P. Ramage, received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

while Kimmons and the rest of the crew received a Presidential Unit Citation. Kimmons redeployed to the USS ''Cobbler'' (SS-344) during the closing months of World War II.

Post-1945 service

In October 1947, following President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

's executive order that opened all rates to Black servicemen, Kimmons took a pay cut to move from steward 1st class to yeoman 2nd class, which had more potential for promotion. He rose to the rate of chief yeoman by 1952 and did shore duty at the naval station in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In mid-1956, he was transferred to serve aboard the USS ''Fulton'' (AS-11), where he advanced to senior chief and master chief yeoman. In 1961, he attended officer training school in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, graduating in May 1961. He then served in the US Hydrographic Office in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he worked in administration, security, and top secret control. In 1963, Kimmons continued these responsibilities at the submarine base in New London. His final assignment was to the Navy's underwater sound laboratory in New London, where he served as security officer from 1968 to 1970.

Second career

Settling in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

after retirement, Kimmons graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in history from

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. Originally chartered as Thames College, it was founded in 1911 as the state's only women's colle ...

in 1973. The college had begun accepting male students only a year before. He continued his education by earning a Master of Arts in education and history from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and a sixth-year certificate from

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

. Kimmons worked as a social studies teacher in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

high schools for 22 years before retiring from his second career. In 1987, the Booker T. Washington Community Center of Hamilton, Ohio, named Kimmons to its Hall of Fame.

Personal life

In July 1943, Kimmons married Thelma Jean Lewis, a high school classmate. The couple had three children: Karen, Larry, and Kimberly. Kimmons died on August 4, 2016, at the age of 96. His wife and daughters survived him. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimmons, Carl Eugene 1920 births 2016 deaths People from Hamilton, Ohio Military personnel from Ohio Connecticut College alumni University of Connecticut alumni African Americans in World War II African-American United States Navy personnel United States Navy personnel of World War II African-American schoolteachers Schoolteachers from Ohio United States Navy officers 21st-century African-American military personnel Burials at Arlington National Cemetery