African-American World War II veterans honored at banquet

The men fought the enemy and discrimination in their own services. Among those was Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Sharpe, a Navy veteran of World War II.

At that time, Sharpe said, blacks were expected to be stewards who cleaned and made the beds of officers. He refused and paid dearly for that, he said.

"I was court-martialed, sent to the brig and lived on bread and water for 30 days at a time. The Navy did everything they could to break me, but they never did,” he said.

He remembers two things capable of breaking the racial barrier: enemy bullets and bombs.

During the Battle of Okinawa, Sharpe's vessel came under kamikaze attack.

Despite everything, however, he graduated near the top of his class.

"When that is the only country you know, good or bad, she is your country and you fight to defend her with your life,” Sharpe said.

These days, Sharpe is an assistant professor of health education at North Carolina Central University. He says he is glad to see the day an African-American was elected the commander-in-chief.