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By Conway Jones
Joseph Paul Reason graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1965. He retired as a U.S. Navy Admiral, the first Black American officer to become a four-star admiral in the United States Navy.
Reason’s middle-class upbringing in northeast Washington, D.C., emphasized intellectual development, education, and being culturally well-rounded.
Reason had an outstanding naval career. He was one of four Blacks admitted to the academy in 1961 and one of three to graduate.
In 1965, Reason entered the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program. In 1968, Reason was named lieutenant and served aboard the USS Truxtun’s first deployment to Southeast Asia. From 1970 to 1973, he was assigned to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise as an electrical officer during deployments to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
In December 1976, Reason was assigned to the White House as naval aide to President Jimmy Carter. His duties included carrying the “football,” a case containing the codes for activating the country’s nuclear weapons.
President Bill Clinton nominated him for promotion to four stars in 1996 and Reason became the first Black admiral in the U.S. Navy.
He retired from active duty in 1999.
“I totally attribute my success to those who have gone before me — all minorities,” Reason said. “People who have broken down barriers by showing others they’re capable of doing the expected task, that they can perform, and it has nothing to do with color of skin or ethnicity — nothing to do with anything other than a person’s capabilities.”
About his service on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, he said the deployments were long and arduous, but the Bay Area always welcomed Navy ships and their sailors to the Naval Air Station Alameda homeport.
“Alameda will always be a safe harbor,” said Reason. “I am glad that the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum maintains that tradition.as she celebrates the 80th anniversary as a carrier and its 25th anniversary as a museum this Veterans Day weekend.”
