Thomas Francis Darden Jr. (September 8, 1900 – June 17, 1961) was a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

officer who achieved the rank of

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

, the commander of a Navy

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

during

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 ...

, and was the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), 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 o ...

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 or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

: 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 comma ...

and

Thomas L. Sprague Thomas Lamison Sprague (October 2, 1894 – September 17, 1972) was a 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 Guam, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Nav ...

. 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 known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

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), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

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

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, 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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal United States National Cemetery System, military cemetery in San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Naval Base Point Loma, Fort Rosecrans a ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California.

Naval career

While he was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, 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 personnel readiness and manpower allocation for the United States Navy. The CNP serves in an additional duty capacity as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Personnel, Manpower, ...

Rear Admiral

. Darden took command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

USS ''Benham'' (DD-397)on February 2, 1939. Then, during the War in the Pacific, Darden commanded the

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 m ...

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, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

. 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 governor of American Samoa from April 22, 1947, to June 15, 1949. He was born in Philadelphia, Illinois, and was appointed to the United States N ...

, and he left the office on February 23, 1951, to be succeeded by civilian governors from then on. Darden's primary assignment as the last U.S. Navy Governor was to ensure a smooth and orderly transition from U.S. Navy to

Interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

administration. Despite President Truman's 1948 order for the transition, there was still significant opposition due to political and economic concerns, including fears of losing land and the matai system. On March 1, 1951, Governor Darden and his wife departed the territory aboard the ''SS Sonoma''.Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). ''Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000''. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Page 22. ISBN 9829036022.

References

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