Today in our History – December 7, 1941 - Nelson Mitchell, Sr was the last remaining African-American survivor of the attack on the USS Jarvis.
GM – LIF – Today’s American Champion was the oldest African American survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor when he said he felt the ship shake and saw the bay on fire.
He was asleep in bed aboard the USS Jarvis, when the attack on Pearl Harbor commenced. As he jumped out of his bunk, he saw that the whole bay was on fire. Learn and pass on the knowledge.
Remember - “I got up, out of my bunk, and the ship was shaking. I looked out and the whole bay was full of fire.” He immediately reported to duty. “I didn’t have a bαttle station, but I did stay in the pantry and waited on the officers until the bombing was over.” - Nelson Mitchell, Sr
Today in our History – December 7, 1941 - Nelson Mitchell, Sr was the last remaining African-American survivor of the attack on the USS Jarvis.
Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the 78th anniversary of the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. America entered World War II just one day later.
Millions of Americans were pressed into action after the bombing. Some came home, some gave all. As the years have gone by, the number of World War II veterans has dwindled. The last remaining African-American to survive the bombing of Pearl Harbor lived in Peoria, AZ/
Nelson Mitchell’s grandparents were slaves in Georgia. Mitchell, died at 98 years old. He spent his early years picking cotton on his family’s farm in Texas.
In 1940, he joined the Navy and was assigned to the U.S.S Jarvis, a destroyer. At that time in the Navy, African-Americans could serve only as a cook or a captain’s steward, assisting in whatever daily necessities the captain had.
“All of the whites, they could do anything they wanted to on the ship,” Mitchell said. “But we were restricted to waiting on the officers. But that was a better life than what I had working on a farm.”
The Jarvis was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Mitchell was in bed when the Japanese started bombing.
He immediately got to work and did his job.
“I didn’t have a battle station, but I did stay in the pantry and waited on the officers until the bombing was over.”
The Jarvis wasn’t hit. It was able to get out to sea and patrolled the Hawaiian coast for two weeks following the bombing, looking for Japanese submarines.
After Mitchell was reassigned, the Japanese torpedoed and sank the Jarvis during the Battle of Guadalcanal the following August. All 233 men on board were killed.
Mitchell left the Navy in 1948 and took a job working in a warehouse in California. He and his wife moved to Phoenix in the 1950s to be with his asthmatic father. Their first house was built on three-and-a-half acres of land that Mitchell bought for $2,100 at what is now 40th Street and Interstate 10.
His dad died at the age of 81. Mitchell did not clarify what happened to his wife, whether the two divorced or she passed away. She is not part of his life now, and Mitchell lives alone.
He worked at Luke Air Force base and later as a gardener, and retired just 2015.
Mitchell once said he thinks about being the last African American survivor of Pearl Harbor.
Mitchell said times have changed since he served. Things are better for African-Americans in the military now.
“They can make ranks and can do a lot of different things,” he said. “They have a great opportunity. If they don’t make it, it ain’t nobody’s fault but themselves.”
He believed the training African-Americans receive in the military today is top-notch. “When I was in the service, I was denied that type of training,” Mitchell said. “But one thing about it is, I said that whatever I do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Nelson G. Mitchell, Jr., 98, passed into eternity on February 27, 2018, surrounded by family. The richness of his life and family legacy is reflected in his mindful upbringing, his journey in the military, his love of family, his generosity of spirit, and his passion for roses.
Nelson was born January 19, 1920 on a family farm in Bivins, TX (Cass County) where he picked cotton, tended a vegetable garden, cared for livestock, and engaged in other daily chores with two sisters and five brothers. There was very little time for play, except for church on Sundays and occasional picnics. He enjoyed baseball and basketball when time allowed.
Nelson joined the U.S. Navy in August 1940—not to see the world—but to provide extra income for his family. In the face of limited opportunities, he served honorably, diligently, and without bluster as a stewards mate and cook.
He married Fannie Lee Epps of Linden, TX in 1946 before leaving the Navy in 1948. When they put down roots in Phoenix, they raised three children, many cows (including a trio named Blackie, Brownie and Hamburger), hundreds of chickens, and alfalfa. He worshipped at Willow Grove Baptist Church in the South Phoenix Okemah community for more than 50 years.
Following his service in the Navy, Nelson spent more than 20 years in civil service at Luke AFB. (Nelson retired in 1970 to care for his ailing wife.)
Nelson honed his talents as a horticultural phenom at his Phoenix home. His yard radiated vibrant color and life with more than 250 rose bushes and other flowers, several pecan trees, and orange, lemon, grapefruit, peach and apricot trees. He won numerous rose show and county and state fair awards for his prowess in the rose garden.
In the early 1990s, Nelson moved to Peoria, AZ where he made many new friends and enjoyed his senior independent life. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!