Charles Woods, former Rocky Mount High School band director, served in the U.S. Navy B-1 Band.

When the 40+ young men left Raleigh for Norfolk on the morning of May 27, 1942, they were headed for basic training. A few were recent college graduates, a few recent high school graduates. They knew they were entering World War II, and they also were stepping into history, becoming on that May day the first African Americans to serve in the modern U.S. Navy in any capacity other than galley work.