European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes monday january 13, 1992trailblazing Black Navy officer Dies by Bruce Lambert the new York times new York a James e. Hair one of 13 Blacks who broke the Navy a color Barrier by tutoring each other and winning record scores to become officers in world War ii died Jan. 3 at St. Luke a Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan. He was 76 and lived in Queens. The apparent cause of death was heart disease relatives said. Hair was the grandson of slaves. The Navy was still segregated when he enlisted in 1942, with Blacks relegated to jobs like Cooks and stewards. President Franklin d. Roosevelt prodded by his wife Eleanor challenged the racial policy. Reluctantly the Navy selected some Blacks for its officers school at great lakes training station near Chicago. But it kept them segregated and gave them Only eight weeks of training a half the Normal period. Some candidates suspected they were being sabotaged. They banded together As the Golden thirteen for the Gold stripes they aspired to Wear. The nightly lights out order was their Cue to cover the windows with blankets and keep studying. They taught each other. One was a lawyer and drilled them on Navy regulations. Another was an expert signalman and another had worked on fishing boats. When their examinations were graded the scores were so High that sceptical Navy officers ordered them retested. The results were even higher averaging 3.89 out of 4 a the Best class score Ever recorded there. No graduation ceremony was accorded the men but they were commissioned As ensigns on March 17, 1944. They were featured in life Magazine. Hair was assigned As the skipper of Ytb-215, a tugboat. In 1945, he was promoted to first lieutenant As the first Black officer on the Mason a Landing ship with an All Black Crew which sailed in Asia. The Black officers encountered resistance in the Navy and after the War All but one left for other careers. Decades later the modern integrated Navy flew hair and others from the group around the country for speeches and recruitment. He was fond of telling Navy stories and took special Pride in the Golden thirteen. In 1987, they reunited at great lakes for a ceremony naming the Golden thirteen recruit i processing Center. Among the dignitaries were a vice Admiral and the rear Admiral commanding the station both Blacks. Hair was born in Blackville s.c., the 19th of 21 children of a Baptist minister. He grew up in fort Pierce Fla., and graduated in 1938 from Bethune Cookman College a two year school where he was class president. In 1942, he earned a bachelors degree from Xavier University in new Orleans. After the War he entered new York City a Fordham University for a masters degree in social work. He was a caseworker and supervisor for 31 years briefly in Detroit and mostly in new York City. He worked for roman Catholic and other private agencies often specializing in Foster care and adoption. Surviving Are two daughters Danita Brown of Stamford conn., and Janette Susan Dent of Dayton . A son James h. Hair jr., also of Dayton a brother Langley hair of fort Lauderdale Fla. Three Sisters Carrie Ellis and Rose Emma Gilliam both of fort Pierce Fla., and Camell Williams of Santa Maria Calif. And eight grandchildren. Hard bargain with smithsonian a a 1929 Miller 91 race car sits in a storage room of the smithsonian institution in Washington . Collector drives Washington apr an american race car that showed up Europe s Best six decades ago has been acquired by the smithsonian institution in an unusual Trade with a private collector. The Miller 91, designed by Harry Miller was a technological Marvel in 1929, with its front wheel drive and supercharged straight eight Cylinder engine. After a transmission failure eliminated it from the Indianapolis 500 that year the car was shipped to France where it set a Speed record for its class. The 1,400 Pound Cigar shaped roadster which hugged its Driver in a body just 20 inches wide hit 139.6 Mph at a track near Paris some 20 Mph faster than its european counterparts. After rules changes blocked another try at indy the Miller Packard Cable special and a second Miller 91 were bought by automaker Ettore Bugatti who adopted Many of inc cars features for his own machines. In America Millers front wheel drive design was adapted by Cord for its famous cars of the 1930s. The depression drove Millers company into bankruptcy in 1932, and it was taken Over by one of his employees Fred offenhauser. The engine in the Miller 91 produced some 280 horsepower from just 91.5 cubic inches about 1,500 cubic centimetres a smaller than Many Economy cars today. The offenhauser engines descended from Miller designs remained a major Force in american open wheel racing for another four decades. The last offenhauser ran at Indianapolis in 1980. Of the 12 Miller 91s built Only five still Are known to exist. Only two Are considered authentic. The smithsonian now has one and the other Good example is at the Indianapolis motor speedways museum. The Packard Cable special was donated by Robert Rubin of Southampton n.y., along with a $100,000 Grant for the motor sports collection at the smithsonian a National museum of american history the museum said. But there was a catch. In Exchange for the Miller which Rubin had meticulously restored to original condition Rubin wanted a 1905 Mercedes that the museum had in storage. Despite a policy that weighs strongly against  a Bush aides Washington a top Bush administration officials denied sunday that president Bush a Trade Mission to Japan was a Flop with the Secretary of Commerce describing it As the economic equivalent of operation desert storm. But Bush challenged Patrick Buchanan derided it As a a fiasco and sen. Lloyd Bentsen a Texas called it a obviously a political trip to assist Bush in his reelection  Bentsen announced that his Senate finance committee would hold hearings next week to examine the japanese Trade concessions that Bush has said will create at least 200,000 american jobs. National Security adviser Brent scow Croft sought to sidestep the criticisms Range ments the Deal was made. William l. Withuhn the curator of the collection said it Only happened because the museum had already considered the Mercedes As possibly unsuitable for its purposes. A it required More conservation correction and restoration than we could Ever afford Quot he said. A some private collectors who were aware of the transaction said the Mercedes was probably Worth More than $1 million and the Miller several times that amount. Withuhn declined to discuss the Dollar values and added that it would not have mattered if the Mercedes was considered a needed part of the collection. A the recent Exchange of the 1905 Mercedes for the 1929 Miller race car is the sole Case of a de accession and Exchange with a private individual in recent history Quot he said. The Miller will probably go on display next Spring joining other notable race cars at the museum ranging from the 1902 and 1903 Winton bullets to Richard Petty a 1984 Stock car. Call Japan trip definite Success saying he did no to believe a anything really negative happened on Bush a controversial journey to Asia with . Automakers and other executives in Tow. A the trip As a whole was really a definite Success a scowcroft said on cd so face the nation. Commerce Secretary Robert a. Mos Bacher sr., who quits the Cabinet this week to become general chairman of Bush a re election drive said the president a was supporting the economic Security of this country As he did in desert storm for our military  Mosbacher on in no a news maker sunday said Bush a was out there Selling jobs and getting business  much of the criticism at Home and in Tokyo zeroed in on the High paid Auto executives in Bush a party who despite their criticisms of japanese Trade practices have made few efforts to design cars for japanese Consumers. . Auto sales Are in a slump and general motors last month announced plans to Lay off 74,000 workers. Asked if the Auto executives should have been left Home Mosbacher said a we talked about that but you . Because the autos were one half of our total Trade deficit with  on no cd a meet the press Buchanan who Hopes to wrest the gop nomination from Bush said that the president a got a reality Check in Tokyo on his vision of a new world order. When Bush sought concessions a from his old friends he got something close to a Stone Wall a Buchanan said. Bentsen said the finance committee would hold a hearing when Congress returns Jan. 22 to scrutinize the japanese concessions which Bentsen described As a too Little 10 years too  he said the $41 billion Trade deficit with Japan defies economic logic because it is declined by Only $5 billion in the last six years while the Dollar has fallen More than 50 percent against the yen a Quot a gtd. Bentsen who also appeared on face in the same Perio also Appi the nation questioned Why Bush took his National Security adviser to Tokyo but not his Trade representative Carla Hills