It contains numerous items from his days serving aboard the USS Kershaw during World War II along with mementos from his years on the USS Bryce Canyon during the Korean War.
Photos display some of his proudest moments, such as the day he received a commendation for ranking first in his class at the Hospital Corps School in San Diego.
Other images capture his athletic prowess. At a hulking 6-2, 210 pounds, Sharpe was the three-time heavyweight champion of all military branches serving in the Pacific and compiled a record of 54-0-1. He also became the Navy’s fencing champion and won the Foil, Saber and Epee fleet championship in Tokyo. Other items reflect Sharpe’s strong religious faith. Shortly after World War II he worked closely with the Kershaw’s chaplain who established the International Christian University at Mitaka, Japan.
Looking through the photos brings back plenty of memories, some good and some he wishes he could forget. The scrapbook encapsulates a time when Sharpe stood up for racial equality, helped saved the lives of wounded Marines, watched in horror as kamikazes dove into nearby ships, and served honorably as a Navy corpsman in Korea.
Yet, incredibly, Sharpe has allowed very few people to look at his scrapbook. He never even spoke to his wife or family about his wartime experiences.
He has given several public talks about his days in the Navy but usually avoids any disturbing recollections. Six decades later, the memories still bring back tears.
“No, I never did tell my children or my wife or any other member of my family (about the war),” said Sharpe. “I wasn’t looking for empathy from anyone.”
As for telling his story to strangers, Sharpe doesn’t see the point. He believes that nobody really cares what happened all those years ago.
“People don’t really want to hear my story,” said Sharpe. “If they do hear it then it is just a five-minute thing. Afterward they go back to their routine lives. They really don’t care. The past is forever gone.” Except for veterans like Sharpe who have seen the carnage of war. For them the past is always hauntingly close.
In the Navy
Sharpe was barely out of high school when he was drafted and heading off to basic training in Bainbridge, MD.
Within hours of arriving at the segregated training facility Sharpe knew he was going to encounter serious problems. The military treated whites and blacks differently and Sharpe wasn’t the type of person to accept such inequality.
One of the African-American sailors was placed in charge of the group and Sharpe instantly disliked the way he acted subservient to whites.
“I did not like him from day one and a lot of others did not like him,” said Sharpe. “As I think back, he was the kind of person that other blacks did not like and was referred to as ‘Uncle Tom.’ But that is the way things were structured.
“He gave some of the guys in our company a hard time and I didn’t think they deserved it. I felt that one of these days he was going to rub me the wrong way and I would not accept it.”
That day came shortly before the company was to graduate from basic training. The “straw boss” told Sharpe that his bunk blanket wasn’t tight enough and ordered him to redo it.
“I remade my bunk and he pulled everything and tossed it on the floor while the rest of the group laughed,” said Sharpe. “But I saw nothing but rage and refused to make it again. When he grabbed me I saw red and I beat him soundly, although he was a greater physical specimen than I. He was bleeding from the nose and mouth profusely and headed for sick bay. It was the first time I ever got into fight.”
The chief petty officer berated Sharpe and told him he was going to be court-martialed. But Sharpe never heard about the incident again and graduated with the rest of his company.
Sharpe was sent by train to Portland, OR where he underwent additional training before being assigned to the attack troop transport USS Kershaw in early 1945. The ship transported nurses and military personnel to Guam before sailing to Saipan in preparation for the Okinawa invasion.
Black sailors aboard the Kershaw were mostly limited to working as stewards and had little hope for promotion. Angry that white sailors were never assigned as stewards, Sharpe refused to obey orders.
“The (stewards) served the white officers,” said Sharpe. “You served them their meals, made their beds, cleaned their rooms, shined their shoes, and washed their skivvies. I refused to do it. I told them that was not what I was trained for. I was trained for the military. That is when my problems began.” Court-martialed
Sharpe was court-martialed and placed in the brig for 30 days while only receiving bread and water. He credits his father for giving him the strength to speak out against inequality at a time when so few people dared such defiance.
“I don’t know what it was that was inside of me,” said Sharpe. “I think it was my father’s influence. He embedded in me from day one, ‘Yes, you are black. But be black and proud.’ He taught me about pride, dignity, respect, honesty and spirituality. He embedded these things in me.
“He said, ‘People will act this way and act that way but you don’t have to be a part of it or you are just as bad as they are. You can walk with pride because you have nothing to be ashamed of. You are not inferior to anybody.’ I think that is what precipitated that rebellion when I went into the Navy. My father told me that I would never be any man’s servant. You are a servant to God but not to man.”
After spending his time in the brig Sharpe still refused to become a steward. He was then reassigned to the kitchen crew.
Sharpe only spent a short time in the kitchen before he found himself in trouble once again.
“The blacks serving the officers were so adamant about this servitude that I could not stomach it,” said Sharpe. “One day an officer asked for some butter. This black fellow was in such a hurry to get the butter that he knocked me aside. I was so furious about this attitude that I kicked him in the a-- as he headed for the wardroom.
“The kick was so hard that it propelled him into the wardroom where he fell on the deck with the butter splattered all over his face. I was again sentenced to 30 days in the brig on bread and water. The executive officer was determined to break me to become like the other blacks on the ship but I could not be broken.” While sitting in the brig, Sharpe never second-guessed his actions.
“It was day in and day out with just bread and water,” said Sharpe. “But I survived well because it was all attitude. I continued to talk with God and that gave me the strength to hold out. It made me stronger. Death before dishonor.”
After being released from the brig for a second time Sharpe still refused to become a steward. He earned a hard-fought victory by being assigned to the regular deck crew.
The officer in charge, Chief Boatswain’s Mate Swan, didn’t care what color his sailors were as long as they followed orders and took care of their responsibilities.
The tough, seasoned career officer instantly won Sharpe’s respect.
“I will never forget him,” said Sharpe. “I got the feeling he understood where I was coming from and how I was feeling. He was a rugged, seasoned chief that spent 20 or 30 years in the navy. He had been on all types of ships and was a smart guy. I learned a lot from him about being on the deck of the ship.”
Although Swan acted paternally toward his new deck crew member he certainly didn’t play favorites. He demanded that Sharpe perform his duties despite his lack of training.
“I was not trained at all for deck work but I learned quickly, which surprised the Chief,” said Sharpe. “All I did was watch the fellows who were trained and talk to them.”
Sharpe’s lack of training caught up with him in a most painful manner as he caught his finger in a deck winch. But the accident also proved fortuitous as it sparked his interest in medical aid.
“I was trying to handle a winch without any experience or knowledge and caught my finger in it,” said Sharpe. “That is when I was sent to sickbay and found out about the corpsmen and what they do. It fascinated me. These fellows knew exactly what they were doing and everything was so clean. I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’” (Part of three of Robert Sharpe’s story will continue in next week’s edition.)
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