What was the first U.S. Navy ship named in honor of a black person?

Leonard Roy Harmon was born on January 21, 1917 in Cuero, Texas. In June 1939, at the age of 22, he enlisted in the United States Navy. He reported for duty on the cruiser USS San Francisco on October 28, 1939.

In the Navy at the time, black men were allowed a limited number of assignments, so Harmon was trained as mess attendant. All crew members, however, regardless of job, were trained in damage control and had assignments at duty stations during a general quarters announcement.

On November 13, 1942, during the battle of Guadalcanal, the San Francisco came under attack from a Japanese battleship, a cruiser and a destroyer. Shells from the battleship Hiei completely destroyed the bridge killing almost everyone there including Rear Admiral D. J. Callaghan and Captain Cassin Young. Harmon went to aid any survivors and was assigned to assist Pharmacist's Mate Lyndford Bondsteel attending to the wounded, he deliberately stood between Bondsteel and enemy gunfire in order to protect his wounded shipmate and was killed in the process.

He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, next to the the Medal of Honor the highest award given to members of the US Navy. The USS Harmon (DE-678) served from 1943 to 1947 and remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1967.