Hidden Bibliographic Details
| Varying Form of Title: | History Makers video oral history with Lanier W. Phillips
Lanier W. Phillips
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| Other authors / contributors: | Phillips, Lanier, 1923-2012, interviewee.
Butler, Cheryl, interviewer.
Hickey, Matthew, director of photography.
HistoryMakers (Video oral history collection), production company.
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| Sound characteristics: | digital
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| Digital file characteristics: | video file
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| Notes: | Videographer, Matthew Hickey.
Cheryl Butler, interviewer.
Recorded Washington, District of Columbia 2007 July 29.
Vendor-supplied metadata.
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| Summary: | Sonar technician Lanier Phillips was born on March 14, 1923 in Lithonia, Georgia to sharecroppers. In 1941, Phillips enlisted in the U.S. Navy and faced strict segregation. After boot camp aboard the USS Truxton, Phillips began work in the mess hall alongside other sailors of color. In February 1942, while escorting supply ships across the North Atlantic, the USS Truxton ran aground and capsized off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. 110 sailors from the Truxton died, and Phillips was the sole black survivor. In the 1950s, Phillips applied to the Navy's Fleet Sonar School. In 1957, he became the Navy's first black sonar technician. He retired from the Navy in 1961, and began work as a civil technician with EG&G. He also began work with the ALVIN deep water submersible team. Phillips later joined the deep sea exploration team of Jacques Cousteau and assisted in the development of deep sea lamp technology.
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