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Alton Augustus Adams was the first black bandmaster in the U.S. Navy. After the United States purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917, Adams and his entire juvenile band were enlisted into the U.S. Navy. The induction of the entire band made these young men the first blacks to receive official Navy musical appointments. As bandmaster, Adams was given the rate of Chief Petty Officer, making him one of the first blacks to reach this rating. In 1933, Adams retired from active duty and joined the Naval Fleet Reserve. With the advent of World War Two, Adams was recalled to active duty and sent to Guantanamo Bay where he took over an all-white unit band. He received permission to reinstate eight former bandsmen, thus creating the first racially integrated band sanctioned by the Navy. The next year Adams and the other islanders were transferred to St. Thomas to reform the original unit, again as an all-black ensemble. The band was transferred again in 1944 to Puerto Rico where Adams retired from the Navy permanently in 1945. (Artwork by Willie C. P. Kendrick III)
| Date Taken: | 01.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2025 10:17 |
| Photo ID: | 8824762 |
| VIRIN: | 250108-O-MO260-2531 |
| Resolution: | 6000x7500 |
| Size: | 21.62 MB |
| Location: | FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Chief Petty Officer Alton Augustus Adams [Image 4 of 4], by Willie Kendrick, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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