BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for April 28.

Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. became the first Black Admiral in the U.S. Navy.

He attended Virginia Union University but left before graduating to join the Naval Reserve in 1942.

He was commissioned in 1944 and served during World War II onboard USS PC-1264. After the war, Gravely had a brief stint in the civilian world before he was recalled to active duty in 1949. 

Gravely was recalled to active duty in 1949 and worked as a recruiter in Washington, D.C. before holding both shore and sea assignments during the Korean War.

In 1962 he became the first black officer to command a United States warship when he was named skipper of the destroyer Falgout, which patrolled the so-called Pacific Barrier between the Aleutian and Midway Islands.

For his final tour of duty, beginning in 1978, up until his retirement in 1980, Vice Admiral Gravely served as Director of the Defense Communications Agency. 

Gravely's military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Commendation Medal.

Learn black history, teach black history at blackfacts.com