Navy's First Black Captain
Navy's first black captain remembered as a 'spiritual giant'
By DAVE FORSTER,
The Virginian-Pilot© April 22, 2007
Last updated: 9:18 PM
NORFOLK - History will remember Thomas David Parham Jr. as the Navy's first black captain, but anyone who heard him preach will remember why he was a chaplain.
Parham, who died Tuesday at the age of 87, was a legend by the time Capt. Robert L. Ford joined the service in 1979.
"Everybody told me, you have to go to one of his services," Ford recalled Saturday, after a memorial service for Parham at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base's chapel.
Parham, with his ram rod-straight posture and quiet confidence, looked like he came from central casting for a naval officer, said retired Rear Adm. Barry Black.
Black, now the U.S. Senate chaplain, recalled one of the first times he saw Parham in action, during a briefing to a four-star admiral. Parham, a reserved man away from the pulpit, fielded the admiral's questions so calmly and thoroughly he made it look easy. "He literally put on a clinic," Black said.
Parham joined the Navy in 1944, but not without resistance. A recruiter accepted his application for chaplain only after Parham showed him a newspaper article proving that another black man, J. Russell Brown, had already been commissioned to the position, according to Parham's biography.
As his career progressed, Parham began recruiting other black preachers to become Navy chaplains, Ford said. Parham was " one of the most ethically congruent people I have ever met," Black said. "He was a spiritual giant."
Parham's service cut across racial lines. His son, Thomas David Parham III, noted that several white chaplains had attended a family gathering Friday and said they counted Parham as a friend and mentor.
Many will remember his sense of humor. Thomas Parham III said his father had a famous sermon in which he explained why he preferred his middle name over his first.
He gave three reasons: "Doubting Thomas, Peeping Tom and Uncle Tom."
Parham retired from the Navy in 1982, and later taught sociology at Norfolk State University. He left behind three children and his wife, E. Marion Cordice Parham of Norfolk.
By DAVE FORSTER,
The Virginian-Pilot© April 22, 2007
Last updated: 9:18 PM
NORFOLK - History will remember Thomas David Parham Jr. as the Navy's first black captain, but anyone who heard him preach will remember why he was a chaplain.
Parham, who died Tuesday at the age of 87, was a legend by the time Capt. Robert L. Ford joined the service in 1979.
"Everybody told me, you have to go to one of his services," Ford recalled Saturday, after a memorial service for Parham at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base's chapel.
Parham, with his ram rod-straight posture and quiet confidence, looked like he came from central casting for a naval officer, said retired Rear Adm. Barry Black.
Black, now the U.S. Senate chaplain, recalled one of the first times he saw Parham in action, during a briefing to a four-star admiral. Parham, a reserved man away from the pulpit, fielded the admiral's questions so calmly and thoroughly he made it look easy. "He literally put on a clinic," Black said.
Parham joined the Navy in 1944, but not without resistance. A recruiter accepted his application for chaplain only after Parham showed him a newspaper article proving that another black man, J. Russell Brown, had already been commissioned to the position, according to Parham's biography.
As his career progressed, Parham began recruiting other black preachers to become Navy chaplains, Ford said. Parham was " one of the most ethically congruent people I have ever met," Black said. "He was a spiritual giant."
Parham's service cut across racial lines. His son, Thomas David Parham III, noted that several white chaplains had attended a family gathering Friday and said they counted Parham as a friend and mentor.
Many will remember his sense of humor. Thomas Parham III said his father had a famous sermon in which he explained why he preferred his middle name over his first.
He gave three reasons: "Doubting Thomas, Peeping Tom and Uncle Tom."
Parham retired from the Navy in 1982, and later taught sociology at Norfolk State University. He left behind three children and his wife, E. Marion Cordice Parham of Norfolk.
posted by TELL THE WORLD | 4/23/2007 11:58:00 AM
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