"
Charles David, Jr. (19171943): Selfless Coast
Guard Hero of World War
II
Black Leaders, Everyday Heroes, Heroes &
Trailblazers / By Kate Kelly
Enlisted in the military as soon as it was
clear the U.S. was entering World War II
Worked his way up in the positions open
to him in a segregated military
Selflessly forgot his own safety in order to
rescue others
Charles David, Jr., was born in New York City in
1917. When Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7,
1941, it was clear that the United States would have
to enter World War II, and men, including Charles
David, were ready to enlist; David chose to enter the
Coast Guard.
At that time, the military was segregated so there
were only certain jobs that were available to AfricanAmericans; David started as part of the kitchen staff
and worked his way up to Steward’s Mate, a position
where he was responsible for tending to the officers’
quarters and also helping to serve meals.
By late 1942 he was assigned to the Coast Guard
cutter the Commanche. In February 1943, the
Comanche was part of a convoy escorting two
merchant marine ships and one troop transport, the
Dorchester (a former luxury passenger ship
commandeered by the military) on its way to an
Army Command base in Greenland. The Comanche
and two other cutters, The Escanaba and The
Tampa were along to try to assure the safety of the
bigger ships carrying men and supplies.Aboard the
Dorchester
The
path
to
Greenland required passing through “Torpedo Alley,”
so called for the number of ships that had been
struck there by German submarines, and
unfortunately for the convoy, the unthinkable
happened. On February 3, at 12:55 a.m., with 904
men on board the Dorchester, a German U-boat
torpedoed the ship. So great was the damage that
the huge luxury liner immediately began to sink,
going down within 20 minutes.
Because the ship listed heavily to one side once hit,
some of the lifeboats and jackets were inaccessible.
The men grabbed what they could, and the available
life rafts were quickly overloaded. The water was
extraordinarily rough and very cold, so many men
got pitched into the water, where hypothermia could
set in in a matter of moments.
The Rescue Operation
“Retriever rescue” was the safety training method
that the Coast Guard staff learned for this type of
rescue operation. The guardsman put on wet suits
(rubber suits that can help retain some body heat)
and started out in lifeboats to reach the men in the
water. Those being rescued soon found that their
fingers totally stiffened from the cold, and they were
unable to grip a rope or a safety line. The “retriever”
maneuver anticipated this, and the Coast
Guardsmen looped the rope around the struggling
men so they could be pulled to safety.
This maneuver was not used frequently so while
officers were expected to set the example for their
men, other participants were left to volunteer as it
was an exceedingly dangerous mission. They, too,
could get hypothermia, or in the chaos of a dark
night they could easily be left behind.
Only 12 men from the Comanche participated—one
of whom was Charles David, Jr., one of the lowest
ranking men on board and certainly not of a level
where others would have expected him to be among
the first volunteers.
But David, who was described by shipmates as a
“strong, strapping, cheerful” man, wouldn’t have it
any other way. He got into a wet suit and started
working to save the men who were still in the water.
At one point, the cutter moved away from one of the
life rafts where David knew there was still a Coast
Guardsman working rescue, so he alerted the
captain to go back; though it took about 30 minutes
to get back to the raft where Ensign Robert
Anderson was helping others, they got to him just in
time. Anderson was in bad shape so David wrapped
a rope around his chest and the group hauled him
in.
Another
fellow who
owed his life
to Charles
David was
Richard
Swanson,
who
happened to be one of Charles David’s closest
shipboard friends. A white farm boy from Nebraska,
Swanson shared a love of music with David, and the
two of them often entertained the others, David on
harmonica and Swanson on saxophone. The two
friends also liked socializing together on leave, but
they had to pick their bars carefully to find one that
would serve both blacks and whites.
Out of the 227 survivors of the SS Dorchester, the
men from the Comanche saved 93 of them. The
others were rescued by men on the other cutters.
Operation Concluded
When all who could be found were saved, the
Comanche continued on its way to Greenland, and
once there, Charles David and others were taken to
the base hospital for care. David contracted
pneumonia after the ordeal and died 54 days later.
He left behind a widow and a three-year-old son.
After his death, Charles David Jr. and several other
crewmen were awarded the highest noncombat
awards in the Navy: the Navy and Marine Corps
Medals. David was also recognized by President
Johnson through a certificate issued to his widow.
The citation read, in part:
For heroic conduct in effecting the rescue of
survivors from the torpedoed SS DORCHESTER on
3 February 1943 when the benumbed survivors
were unable because of heavy seas and freezing
wind to make any effort to climb on board the
rescuing ship David volunteered for the dangerous
task of going over the side and working in the rough
water to assist the exhausted survivors in reaching
the safety of the USCGC COMANCHE.
Disregarding all discomfort and danger to himself,
he worked until he and fellow volunteers had
rescued a total of 93 survivors from certain death in
the steadily mounting sea.
More Honors
Years later, the Immortal Chaplains Foundation
(honoring four chaplains who died rescuing others
that same night) awarded David their prestigious
Prize for Humanity. David is also honored with a
display by the chapel at the Coast Guard Station in
Cape May.
Most recently, in November 2013, the U.S. Coast
Guard commissioned a new fast-response cutter,
The Charles David Jr., which will operate out of Key
West, Florida. The cutter is one of a new Sentinel
class of fast-response cutters, that can travel at
double the speed that the old cutter could travel.
The fleet will be responsible for search and rescue,
national defense, law enforcement of marine
resources and watching for drug smugglers along
the straits of the Caribbean and Florida.
Commissioning Ceremony
Along with members of Charles David’s family was
Ensign Robert Anderson (later to become a
Lieutenant), as well as family members of Richard
Swanson, all of whom who have been particularly
vocal about what Charles David, Jr. did for their
families.
Adam Artigliere, grandson of Ensign Anderson,
described his thoughts of Charles David and his
sacrifice: “If it were not for [Charles David], my
grandfather would have been left by the Comanche
in the confusion and would have surely died. My
understanding is that there were only a few
volunteers to go into the water to attempt to save the
soldiers from the Dorchester. For someone in Mr.
David’s position to step up and volunteer to go into
the water to save those men clearly shows what
kind of a person Charles David was. What a
selfless act. . .My family and the families of the
dozens of men Mr. David helped to save that
evening are forever indebted to him.”
Charles David, Jr.’s Grave
Wartime
circumst
ances
meant
that the
men who
died on or near Greenland were buried quickly at a
cemetery near the Greenland base. In 1947 the
government arranged to move the bodies to the
United States. However, at that time, no one could
locate members of the David family to inform them
of where David’s body would be interred.
Finally about ten years ago, someone put together
that Charles David’s granddaughter—now located—
hadn’t a clue where her grandfather was buried. In
2004, the family was taken to his grave site at Long
Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, only 40
miles from where his family members now live.
At last, Charles David’s family had peace, knowing
where their grandfather, the hero, rests.
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FREDDIE BYRD
JULY 4, 2016 AT 9:13 PM
This has been informative and helpful. My Aunt
Winifred Daisy Beldon served as one of the first
femail coast guard persons. Honored by Former
President Clinton before her death.
KATE KELLY
JULY 15, 2016 AT 12:45 PM
Thank you for sharing this with me… I’ve noted her
name and perhaps I will be able to write about her
later on.
ALMA J. HENSON-DARDEN
NOVEMBER 6, 2020 AT 11:55 PM
A formal teacher from the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis, MD brought this to my attention last year.
I want to thank him so much for this Black hidden
History. It is so informative and I passed it on to
anyone on Facebook and people that live here.
There is so much Black History from people that has
passed throw our small town “Annapolis “
KATE KELLY
NOVEMBER 7, 2020 AT 8:13 AM
Thank you for posting….and yes there is so much
information out there. I have now written about 100
stories of forgotten Black heroes. These are not
necessarily ones who touch Annapolis, but if you
follow this link you can pick and choose among
some of the stories I’ve documented:
https://americacomesalive.com/category/blackleaders/
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