Coast Guard honors service's first African American diver

Courtesy Photo | Ralph Berry, the first Coast Guard African American diver, poses for a picture with Capt. Lamont Bazemore, Chief of Planning and Force Readiness for the Fifth Coast Guard District, during a ceremony honoring his service at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Nov. 23, 2021. Berry’s family have served a combined 400 years with the Coast Guard. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Michael R. Moberley)  

ELIZABETH CITY, NC, UNITED STATES

11.23.2021

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Lehmann 

U.S. Coast Guard District 5   

In 1979, Berry became the first African American to graduate from the Navy Dive and Salvage Center in Panama City, Florida. He was assigned to the Atlantic Strike Team in Elizabeth City, and dove on the sunken Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn in 1980. Berry was also attached to the Coast Guard Cutter Basswood in Guam, and the Coast Guard Cutter Sassafras in Hawaii.

Altogether Berry's family has more than 400 years of combined service in the Coast Guard, which includes a member who served under Richard Etheridge, the first African American to command a Life-Saving Station.

The Coast Guard is proud to celebrate and recognize a member who continually challenged himself and kept true to the Coast Guard core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty.   

-USCG-

• Date Taken: 11.23.2021
• Date Posted: 11.23.2021 16:11
• Story ID: 409933
• Location: ELIZABETH CITY, NC, US
• Hometown: GREENVILLE, NC, US