June 21st 2023.
The Navy formally apologized to the family of two of the 15 Black sailors who were expelled from the Navy over 80 years ago after they exposed racism. The incident occurred in 1940, and the sailors were referred to as the ‘Philadelphia 15’ since all of them were stationed on the USS Philadelphia at the time.
Larry Ponder, the son of one of the sailors, John Ponder, attended the ceremony at the Pentagon with three additional family members. In an interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Larry said his father and uncle were around 20 years old when the discharges were issued.
"We were told that what they did started a movement throughout the service," Ponder said. "But they were the first ones to be disciplined and kicked out."
Ponder's father died in 1997, and Larry found paperwork detailing his “undesirable” discharge from the Navy. Due to the actions of the Navy, his father and uncle were denied veterans’ benefits.
Years after his father died, Ponder came across news of another Black veteran who was granted an honorable discharge 75 years after he was kicked out. He decided to contact the attorney who handled that case, and after speaking to her, she agreed to help him without charging him. Initially, they were rejected, yet, after gathering the proper evidence, the Navy agreed to pardon the soldiers.
One week before the ceremony, Ponder was told by Navy officials to gather family members. Navy officials sent him a flight confirmation the night before he flew to Washington, D.C., where they received a tour of the Pentagon and attended the ceremony that gave his uncle and father an honorable discharge. The Ponders were the only descendants of the ‘Philadelphia 15’ in attendance, but he said Navy officials are also tracking down family members from the other sailors.
The honorable discharges for all of the men, all deceased, were issued on June 16, 2023. This apology was long overdue, but a welcomed closure for the Ponder family. Larry Ponder said his father and uncle deserved the recognition they received, and their story will be remembered for generations to come.
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