Daughter accepts Jacksonville City Council honor for Navy's first Black bomb disposal expert

He was the first Black explosive ordnance disposal technician in the U.S. Navy.

Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Sherman Byrd trained for that dangerous career in Florida in the late 1950s, going on to serve aboard multiple warships and with the nation's leaders until his death in 1971.

His daughter, a Jacksonville resident, said she barely knew her father. But she wrote about his sacrifices and endeavors as he became a pioneer in the hazardous job of disarming bombs in her book, "Quiet Strong."

Cynthia Byrd Conner's father was honored Tuesday with a framed Jacksonville City Council resolution. Coming as Black History Month nears its end, midshipmen from Jacksonville University's NROTC program, plus explosive ordnance experts from the Navy and Army, saluted Byrd and Conner during the ceremony.

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Conner said she was so grateful for the City Council's actions honoring her father, who died when she was 13. She called him a true "Sea Daddy," teaching the ropes to new sailors all the time.

"Thank you so much because it means the world to me and my family," Conner said after receiving City Councilwoman Ju'Coby Pittman's resolution, then gestured at the crowd behind her.

"These are all my family and friends, and they came at a moment's notice because they value the historic contributions my father gave to the Navy," she said. "He did it quietly. He didn't bring a lot of attention to himself. ... The thing he expressed to me that was most important to him was being an instructor and teacher."

Pittman said he should be remembered as a pioneer.

"This is just the beginning of his deserved, heroic recognition," Pittman said. "He was one of the individuals that mattered. We get to witness his exemplary accomplishments of what one person can do with the dedication of training and service."

Worked his way up and made people proud

The U.S. Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Division was founded in 1941 by Lt. Cmdr. Draper Kauffman after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, according to the Navy.

Byrd joined the Navy in 1947 and served on a number of ships before graduating from the Deep Sea Diving School in 1955, then assigned to the USS Petrel as a first-class diver.

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He attended the Naval Underwater Swimmer School in Key West in 1957 and was the first Black man to complete explosive ordnance disposal training. The school is now in Panama City, with about 1,200 students from the Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Air Force training there annually, the Navy said.

Graduating in 1958 from Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal in Maryland, he continued to serve at sea aboard the aircraft carriers USS Randolph and USS Independence.

Promoted to boatswain’s mate first class, he became an instructor and advanced to master chief boatswain’s mate. He also worked with the Secret Service helping protect Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

During a 1971 training exercise, the then-40-year old Byrd died from a heart attack. In 2009 the Navy dedicated the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit TWO facility at Fort Story in Virginia Beach in his honor.

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The City Council resolution honors Byrd and "his dedicated service to our country with the United States Navy." It was drafted last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic, then Pittman's own recovery from the virus, delayed its presentation.

City Councilman Aaron Bowman, whose own 28-year Navy career included command of Naval Station Mayport in 2007, said he was genuinely moved by the resolution.

"Your father, who led the Navy for years to come, and those traditions and values he taught people are still being taught today," Bowman said. "Thank you so much for his service, and it is such a thrill to see you here today."

In thanking Pittman, Conner noted her father started his underwater Navy career in Florida because it has the largest diving training facility in the world in Panama City and more.

"The state has the explosive ordnance disposal training center at Eglin Air Force Base," Conner said. "Do you know the state has the Navy Seals Museum in Fort Pierce? So how fitting is it for Jacksonville to not only be the First Coast, but to be the first to honor a U.S. Navy diver."

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Conner also received a separate resolution from Councilman Al Ferraro. She will receive a duplicate copy of Pittman's resolution at noon Saturday for a Black History Month celebration at James Weldon Johnson Park.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville City Council honors Navy's first Black explosives tech