Thomas Francis Black was born June 25, 1917 in Utica, NY to William Thomas Black (1872-1934) and Catherine D. O'Donoghue (1877-1976). He was the ninth of their 12 children which included Julia M. Galanis (1903-1967), Elizabeth C. (1904-1988), Kathleen E. (1905-2001), Alice Mae Strock (1908-1979), Henry P. (1910-1972), George F. (1911-1962), John William (1914-1989), Joseph Patrick (1916-1976), Doris M. Bohnhorst (1920-2011), Leo (1922-1969) and Donald (1925-1984). His mom and dad were from Ireland and were married before coming to the United States in 1901. His dad was an engineer for the railroad. The 1930 US Census recorded the family living on 1411 Howard Ave. in Utica, NY.

Newspapers of the day reported that he attended St. Francis de Sales and Utica Free Academy schools. (The author looked at UFA yearbooks for 1933-1936 and could find no entry for Thomas). He was a member of St. Francis de Sales Church and its Holy Name Society and was active in athletics, including baseball and football before joining the Navy.

Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 24, 1936 with service number 2385505. He servied on the U.S.S. Balch (DD-363), U.S.S. Maury (DD-401) and then on January 27, 1940 he was assigned to the U.S.S. Craven (DD-382) a destroyer based in Pearl Harbor. When Pearl Harbor was attacked the Craven was at sea proceeding from Wake Island to Pearl Harbor along with the U.S.S. Enterprise. She returned to Pearl Harbor on December 8. Later, on December 15, 1941 Craven was again underway but she collided with the U.S.S. Northampton during refueling and that, combined with damage she took from heavy seas forced her to return to Pearl Harbor. During this time S1c Black was injured and transferred to the U.S.S. Solace (AH-5) for treatment. He died aboard Solace the next day, December 20, 1941.

He was initially buried in Hawaii. After the war his remains were escorted home in a flag-draped casket and marked by a ceremony at Union Station in Utica on October 30, 1947. The Mayor of Utica and a committee of veterans met the train. A funeral for him was conducted in St. Francis de Sales Church, where a requiem high Mass was celebrated. Bearers were school mates and he was laid to rest in St. Agnes Cemetery, Utica, NY on October 31, 1947.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/203763826/thomas_francis-black: accessed February 7, 2026), memorial page for S1c Thomas Francis Black (25 Jun 1917–20 Dec 1941), Find a Grave Memorial ID 203763826, citing Saint Agnes Cemetery, Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Matt (contributor 47205810).

The National Archives at College Park, Maryland; College Park, MD, USA; Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939 - 01/01/1949; NAID: 594996; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007; Record Group:: 24

"Sailor's Greeting Card Precedes Notics of Death", Observer- Dispatch, Utica, NY, Date unknown, page 7.

Wikipedia entry for USS Craven (DD-382) accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Craven_(DD-382) on February 7, 2026.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Utica, Oneida, New York; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0145; FHL microfilm: 2341357

Supporting Documents