Warship named for Cuero man

We drive by the historical marker in the Cuero City Park so much we may forget its message. In 1943, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy announced the naming of a new warship the U.S.S. Harmon. Born in Cuero, Leonard Roy Harmon lost his life in 1942, serving aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco during the WWII Battle of Guadalcanal. He was killed while helping evacuate the wounded and sheltering an injured shipmate with his body. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism. The U.S.S. Harmon was the first Navy ship named after an African American.