Samuel E. Burton
Samuel E. Burton | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1941 Texas |
| Died | February 20, 2003 (aged 62) |
| Service/ | File:Flag of the United States Coast Guard.svg United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1974–2000 |
| Rank |  |
Samuel Earl Burton was the first African-American direct commission lawyer in the United States Coast Guard.[1] Born on January 7, 1941 in Baytown, Texas to Clarence and Eula Burton, he was the 12th of 15 children.[2][1][3] He graduated from Baytown George Washington Carver High School as valedictorian in 1959 and was a member of Carver's 1958 Football State Championship team.[4][5][1]
Education and early military career
After the passing of his mother, his father moved the family to Crosby, Texas, but the young Sam Burton was determined to attend high school in Baytown so he hitch-hiked his way to school every day until the school's Principal, Eddie Frank Green, invited him to come live in his home.[6][1][7] A wealthy benefactor took interest in Burton and financed his educational pursuits. Burton attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama (now Tuskegee University) from 1959 to 1963 and graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in education with a major in mathematics.[8][1][9] While at Tuskegee, he met his wife Doshia Daniels Burton. [10] Their first date was the "Freshman Get Acquainted Dance". [11] Upon graduation, Burton commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and served on active duty from 1963 to 1967.[4][1] In 1966, he deployed to Okinawa during the height of the Vietnam War where he supported radio control operations[12][1][13] for a year. Upon returning, 2LT Burton received an honorable discharge from the Air Force, relocated his family to Portland, Oregon, and began working in the private sector.[14][1][15]
He enrolled at the Lewis and Clark Law School where he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1974.[4][1][16]That same year, he commissioned in the United States Coast Guard as a Lieutenant on July 10.[1][17]
Career
U.S. Coast Guard
He was the first African-American selected as a direct commission lawyer for the Service.[1] His first assignment was to District 13 as a district legal officer.[18][1][19] Subsequent duty stations included a two-year assignment in Houston, Texas from 1978 to 1980, a four-year assignment in Washington, D.C. from 1980 to 1986, a four-year assignment in Long Beach, California from 1986 to 1990, followed by six years in Honolulu, HI from 1990 to 1996, with his Coast Guard career culminating in 2000 in Alameda, CA, where he retired.[6][1][20]
It was his time spent in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Marine Safety Office (MSO) as the Executive Officer (XO) and then later as Commanding Officer (CO) that brought CAPT Burton the greatest satisfaction and the greatest challenges. CAPT Burton arrived at MSO Honolulu (MSO Hono) in 1990 as the XO, but then fleeted up to Commanding Officer in June 1993, when he was promoted to Captain, making him the highest-ranking Black officer in the Coast Guard at the time.[21][1][22] During his tenure at MSO Hono, he managed approximately 100 personnel, which included active duty, reservists, and civilian employees, and three subunits at Yokota AFB, Japan, Singapore, and American Samoa, with an annual budget of $300,000.[23][1] [24]
Hurricane Iniki struck Hawaii in 1992 while CAPT Burton was the XO of MSO Hono.[23] To this day, it is the most powerful hurricane to hit Hawaii in recorded history, costing around $3.1 billion (1992 USD) in damages and six deaths.[25]When it careened into the Island of Kaua'i, MSO Hono sent teams of inspectors, investigators, and pollution response personnel to assess damage to small passenger vessels and respond to any resulting oil spills.[23][1]
In October 1993 when a Taiwanese fishing vessel, Jin Shiang Fa, carrying 10,000 gallons of diesel in its internal fuel tanks and 100,000 gallons of diesel in its forward cargo holds, ran aground and sank near Rose Atoll, a reef/marine protected area near American Samoa, CAPT Burton as the Commanding Officer of MSO Hono found himself at the forefront of cleaning up a 400 by 600 meter area oil spill.[26] The clean up effort took several weeks.[27][1][28]
Under Burton's command, MSO Hono received awards including the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation (also called the Commandant's Quality Award (CQA)) for CY1995 and was recognized for outstanding leadership.[29][1] A few additional highlights of his career included serving as the personal aide to Dr. Ralph Abernathy during the 1981 presidential inauguration and aide to the Governor of American Samoa during the 1985 presidential inauguration.[4][1][30]
Burton retired from the Coast Guard in 2000.[31][1] He and his wife relocated from Alameda, CA to Baltimore, MD upon his retirement.[6][1][32]
Death
An avid basketball player, retired Capt. Burton ruptured his Achilles tendon during a basketball game on January 10, 2003.[33] He was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center by a young Orthopedic Surgeon who placed his leg in a cast, but failed to advise of the possibility for development of blood clots.[34] On February 20, 2003, Burton was convalescing on his living-room couch when a blood clot traveled from his leg to his lungs and blocked both arteries, cutting off his blood circulation.[35]After 30 years of service, Burton died just three years post retirement from a massive pulmonary embolism.[35][36]
Burton was married to Mrs. Doshia Burton, and had a daughter and two sons.[37]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 "African American Chronology".
- ↑ Interview with Doctor Deidre Burton and Mrs. Doshia Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Baytown Sun Newspaper
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Interview with Mrs. Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Baytown Sun Newspaper, Interview with Mrs. Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Interview with Doctor Deidre Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Baytown Sun Newspaper, Interview with Doctor Deidre Burton and Mrs. Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Interviews with Mrs. Burton and LCDR Bob Ferguson, retired USCG
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Baytown Sun Newspaper, Interviews with Mrs. Burton and CDR Marvin Pontiff, retired USCG
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Interview with CDR Pontiff
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Hurricane Iniki - Wikipedia
- ↑ Interview with CDR Pontiff, https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6966#!
- ↑ Interview with CDR Pontiff and Mrs. Burton
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Interview with CDR Pontiff, Baytown Sun Newspaper
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Interview with Mrs. Burton and LCDR Diana Wickman, retired USCG
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ "Burton v. United States – CourtListener.com". CourtListener.
- ↑ "Burton v. U.S."
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Burton v. U.S."
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
- ↑ Doshia Daniels Burton. "Bending Twigs Snapshots of the Inner Workings of Children's Minds".
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