DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I reckon it's worth every word. Leonard Roy Harmon was born right here in Cuero, Texas — and from the very beginning, that's a name you'd do well to remember. In June of 1939, he walked into a Navy recruiting station in Houston and enlisted.
He trained up in Norfolk, Virginia, then reported for duty aboard the cruiser U.S.S. San Francisco, where he worked his way up to mess attendant first class. Now, hold that thought, because the world was about to change around him in ways nobody in Cuero could have imagined.
World War II came, and with it the Battle of Guadalcanal. November 12, 1942 — a Japanese plane crashed directly into the radar and fire control station of the San Francisco. Fifty casualties.
The ship was hurt, her crew was hurting, and the battle wasn't done with her yet. The very next day, November 13, as that naval battle pressed on, enemy gunfire cut down several officers on the bridge. What happened next is the whole story.
Leonard Roy Harmon didn't weigh the odds. He rushed in to help evacuate the wounded to a dressing station. And when the gunfire came again for an injured shipmate — Harmon put himself between that man and the bullets.
He was killed doing it. That is the plain fact, and it doesn't need a single word of decoration. The Navy agreed.
He was awarded the Navy Cross for an act of extraordinary heroism. But the story doesn't stop there — it keeps rolling forward like a tide that won't quit. On May 21, 1943, Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, announced that a Navy vessel would be named in Harmon's honor.
The destroyer escort U.S.S. Harmon — the first U.S. warship ever named for a Black man. On July 25, 1943, she was launched, christened by Mrs.
Naunita Harmon Carroll — Leonard's own mother. Think about standing at that ship's bow, Mrs. Carroll.
Think about what that moment held. The U.S.S. Harmon went on to earn three battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II.
And then, in 1975, the bachelor enlisted quarters at the U.S. Naval Air Station in North Island, California, was named Harmon Hall. A man from Cuero.
A mess attendant first class. A warship, a hall, a Navy Cross, and a shipmate who lived because Leonard Roy Harmon made sure of it. That's the whole ledger — and every line of it counts.
What the marker says
Born in Cuero, Leonard Roy Harmon enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Houston in June 1939. After training in Norfolk, Virginia, he reported for duty on the cruiser "U.S.S. San Francisco" and advanced to mess attendant first class. During the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal, on November 12, 1942, a Japanese plane crashed into the radar and fire control station of the "San Francisco," causing 50 casualties. The following day, November 13, as the naval battle continued, several officers on the bridge were struck by enemy gunfire. Harmon rushed to help evacuate the wounded to a dressing station. He was killed as he shielded an injured shipmate from gunfire. For this act of extraordinary heroism, he was awarded the Navy Cross. On May 21, 1943, Frank Knox, secretary of the Navy, announced the naming of a Navy vessel in Harmon's honor. The first U.S. warship named for a black man, the destroyer escort "U.S.S. Harmon" was christened by Mrs. Naunita Harmon Carroll, Harmon's mother, and launched on July 25, 1943. The vessel received three battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. In 1975, as a further memorial, the bachelor enlisted quarters at the U.S. Naval Air Station, North Island, California, was named Harmon Hall.