First Black Navy SEAL?



 Someone recently asked me who the first black Navy SEAL was and cited Tiz Morrison. Tiz Morrison was technically a UDT guy and the king of the frogmen and he was definitely an absolute badass, but the title of the first black Navy SEAL actually goes to William Goines.


Now I personally am white as snow (well maybe a little sun tan ) - and further, I tend to not even consider a persons skin color in regards to anything really - we all have opportunities nowadays and it’s up to us whether we take advantage of them or not. However, when guys like Goines (and Tiz) were coming up in the 1940’s and 50’s, racial discrimination and segregation were real things. As such, noting the accomplishments of these brave men during such times should not be overlooked. They broke down barriers and they are people to be looked up to.


Bill Goines joined the United States Navy in 1955 - just a few years prior he saw the movie The Frogmen and he decided that was what he really wanted to do. This was pretty interesting because back then - a time when segregation was actually a real thing - not many blacks knew how to swim. There was one pool near where he lived where blacks were only allowed to swim during a 4 hour time slot on Saturday mornings. So Bill said fuck it and learned how to swim on his own… in a nearby river. Like a true frogman! 


So when he enlisted, people were ignorant… and most black enlistees were “tracked” toward becoming stewards. A friend told him to avoid that shit like the plague or he would just be a servant cooking for officers… and he heeded his friends warning. He asked for and was ultimately granted his wish for underwater demolition training. It was not a fast track, but ultimately this young black bad ass began Underwater Demolition Training Replacement (UDTR) Class 17. The class began with 4 US Navy officers, 85 US Navy enlisted sailors, 5 US Army Rangers and 2 foreign Navy officers. After only 3 weeks, all of the Rangers and 1 of the foreign officers had quit! In the end there were only 14 men that graduated with that class. Goines was one of them - and he was the only black guy to do so.


In January of 1962, when SEAL Teams 1 and 2 were created, Goines was 1 of 40 men selected to go to SEAL Team 2. Thus, William Goines was truly the first black Navy SEAL. He served three tours in Vietnam. In Vietnam, he was unfortunately exposed to Agent Orange which was the likely cause of the prostate cancer he contracted later in life. That did not kill him though! Oh, he was also trilingual (fluent in English, Spanish and French).


After Vietnam slowed down in the mid-70’s, Goines joined the Navy Parachute Demo Team  (called the Chuting Stars - they were an East Coast version of the Leap Frogs - in the mid 80’s I believe is when they were basically merged together and the Leap Frogs covered it all). He was part of that team for about 5 years and recorded over 600 free fall jumps in his career and quite a few static line jumps as well.


32 years after he enlisted, in 1987, he retired from the Navy as a Master Chief. That still wasn’t enough service for him. After he got out of the Navy he served as a Chief of Police somewhere in Virginia for 14 years.


I was fortunate enough to meet him quite a few years ago now and man the stories he had of some of the shit he had to overcome. Simply remarkable. Thinking about some of those stories makes me cringe when people today claim they “don’t have a fair shot at things” or claim they are treated “unequally”.


Bill sadly passed away as the result of a heart attack almost one year ago now (on 6/10/2024) in a hospital in VA. He was 87 years old and survived by his wife of 58 years. 58 years! Again, while we all bleed red, it is still important for all of us to remember our own heritage. Bill Goines is one that all African Americans - and any Americans in general should be damn proud of. Rest in Peace Master Chief Goines and thank you for your dedicated service to us all... Continue reading 

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