MATT1c Leonard Roy Harmon

MATT1c Leonard Roy Harmon

Little is known about Leonard Roy Harmon but what we do know is that he was born on January 21, 1917, in Cuero, Texas.  After four attempts to join the Navy, Harmon was 22 when he enlisted in the US Navy in June 1939.  As a person of color at that time like many others, Harmon was only allowed to be trained in specific jobs in the Navy.  He trained as a Mess Attendant, one of the few jobs available to Black men in the Navy at the time.  This job would consist of serving food to the officers and crew aboard the ship.  Mess Attendant First Class (MATT1c) Harmon, like all members of a ship’s crew, Harmon had an assigned station during general quarters, and his station was at damage control.   

By October 1939, Harmon had been assigned to the heavy cruiser USSSan Francisco (CA-38).  TheSan Francisco would see limited action on the date which would live in infamy when Imperial Japanese Naval Air Forces attacked the Pacific Fleet moored at Pearl Harbor and the surrounding Army, Navy, and Marine Corps air stations.  At the time,San Francisco was going through a refit and only had small arms fire to defend herself as she watched torpedo planes strike Battleship Row to the north of her.  Some of her sailors crawled over to the adjacent heavy cruiser USSNew Orleans to defend Pearl Harbor.

San Francisco received no damage during the attack on December 7th.  Crews rushed her refit, so she could join with Task Force 14 (TF14) to relieve Marine defenders at Wake Island shelled by enemy destroyers on the 7th by the same fleet that attacked Oahu, but when the island fell to enemy hands on December 23, and TF14 diverted to Midway.

For the next 10 months,San Francisco and Harmon would serve throughout the Pacific. San Francisco would serve with TF17 at Gilbert and the Marshall Islands in January.  Then she joined alongside the USSLexington (CV-2) and USSYorktown(CV-5) for counter actions in the South West Pacific area around New Guinea. San Francisco joined up with USSWasp(CV-7) to try and save the listing carrier when it was decided to scuttle the hulking wreck instead of letting her fall into Imperial Japanese hands.

In 1942,San Francisco received her new Commanding Officer (CO), and likeSan Francisco,her CO was a veteran of the December 7th Attack at Pearl Harbor.  This new CO was Captain (CAPT) Cassin Young, a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions on the 7th as CO of the repair ship USSVestal (AR-4).  

At the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 

On the 12th of November, theSan Francisco successfully downed an enemy torpedo bomber with her torpedo passing alongside theSan Francisco, but the torpedo plane instead of crashing into the water ended up crashing into theSan Francisco destroying the aft control station which put the aft anti-aircraft director and radar system out of commission. One officer and 15 men were either killed outright or died of their injuries soon thereafter. Four officers and 25 men were wounded; most suffering horrible burns. 

On the night of November 12-13,San Francisco would find herself in a battle with a larger Japanese naval force including the battleshipsHiei and Kirishima, cruiserNagara, and additional destroyers.  In the night battle,San Francisco would take approximately 45 hits from enemy fire ranging from a 14-inch shell to a 5-inch shell with a direct hit killing almost all senior officers including the captain.  MATT1c Harmon on this night would jump into action rescuing wounded sailors and evacuating them to a dressing station alongside Pharmacist Mate Third Class Lynford B. Bondsteel (PhM3c).  Assisting with the evacuation Harmon would deliberately stand between incoming enemy gunfire shielding his fellow sailors and push Bonsteel to the deck safely at the cost of his own life.  His actions that night resulted in the rescue of more than a dozen wounded men including the wounded Executive Officer.

Navy Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Mess Attendant First Class Leonard Roy Harmon, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty in action against the enemy while serving on board the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38), during action against enemy Japanese naval forces near Savo Island in the Solomon Islands on the night of 12–13 November 1942. With persistent disregard for his own personal safety, Mess Attendant First Class Harmon rendered invaluable assistance in caring for the wounded and assisting them to a dressing station. In addition to displaying unusual loyalty on behalf of the injured Executive Officer, he deliberately exposed himself to hostile gunfire in order to protect a shipmate and, as a result of this courageous deed, was killed in action. His heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, maintained above and beyond the call of duty, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country  

Final Honors

MATT1c Harmon would posthumously receive the Navy Cross in March 1943 for his actions aboard the San Francisco.  He would also have a destroyer escort named after him the USS Harmon (DE-72) but would be renamed before launch and transferred to the Royal Navy in September 1943 and renamed HMS Aylmer.  The US Navy would reassign his name “Harmon” to a destroyer escort being constructed, and on August 31, 1943, USSHarmon (DE-678) would be commissioned with her sponsor Mrs. Nau-nita Harmon Carroll, mother of MATT1c Harmon.  The USSHarmon would be the first warship to be named after an African American, but it definitely would not be the last.  While her time in service with the 7th and 1st fleet was less than a year she would still earn 3 battle stars for her service at Luzon and Iwo. A true fighting ship, named for a fighting man, Leonard Roy Harmon.

In 1982, grandson AAMM Leonard Roy Harmon II said about his grandfather, “I feel proud always.  I feel he has set us an example to follow.”