Washington, Feb. 3 -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton issued the following press release:
At the beginning of Black History Month, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced a bill to award a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to the "Golden Thirteen," which were the first 13 African American officers in the United States Navy. In 1944, 16 African American men completed the required training course to become officers and passed their exams. Twelve of those men were commissioned as officers and a 13th was made a chief warrant officer, while no reason was given by the Navy as to why the remaining three men did not receive the commissions they had earned.
"These officers passed their exams with high marks, despite being giv...