HR 404 — Commending Master Chief Petty Officer William Goines, USN, Ret.

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SESSION history | pdf | print version HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.

404 Commending Master Chief Petty Officer William Goines, USN, Ret.

  Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 15, 2017   WHEREAS, Master Chief Petty Officer William Goines, USN, Ret., the first African American member of the elite United States Navy SEALs, was honored for his military service at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at its opening day ceremony in 2016;

and WHEREAS, a native of Lockland, Ohio, William Goines was inspired to serve his country after watching a movie about underwater demolition teams during World War II;

and WHEREAS, since the only public swimming pool in his hometown was segregated at the time, William Goines taught himself to swim in a local creek and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1955 after graduating from high school;

and WHEREAS, William Goines was stationed in Malta for 11 months, then began training for selection to one of the first two Navy SEAL teams, which were established by President John F.

Kennedy in 1962;

and WHEREAS, after a rigorous interview process, William Goines was the only African American of the 40 men selected to join the original two Navy SEAL teams;

the original training program incorporated the best training courses from all branches of the United States Armed Forces;

and WHEREAS, William Goines attended 43 different training schools, learning hand-to-hand combat and escape and evasion techniques from the United States Air Force;

jungle warfare, skydiving, demolition, and weapons training from the United States Army;

reconnaissance and prisoner handling from the United States Marine Corps;

and escape from plane and helicopter crashes over water from the United States Coast Guard;

and WHEREAS, discovering his love of parachuting during training, William Goines was selected to join the Chuting Stars, a United States Navy parachute demonstration team in 1976 and made more than 640 jumps during his five years on the team;

and WHEREAS, William Goines completed several tours of duty during the Vietnam War and carried out sensitive, classified missions in many dangerous locales;

he retired from the United States Navy in 1987 after 32 years of service;

after his honorable military service, he worked in Portsmouth Public Schools and served as a recruiter for the Navy SEALs;

and WHEREAS, William Goines broke down barriers and was an inspiration to countless other African American men and women in uniform, particularly members of the Navy SEALs;

two weeks after his 80th birthday, on September 24, 2016, he was honored at the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.;

now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Master Chief Petty Officer William Goines, USN, Ret., hereby be commended for his many years of service as a member of the United States Navy SEALs;

and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Master Chief Petty Officer William Goines, USN, Ret., as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for his unique place in the history of the United States Navy SEALs.