A history-making U.S. Navy SEAL is being remembered.
William Goines was the first black SEAL. He died in Norfolk in June at the age of 88.
“This is one of the original pictures when he was a SEAL,” Goines’ nephew, Gene Jones said holding a picture of his uncle.
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Jones is proud his uncle was also one of the first 40 people chosen to be a SEAL when the first two teams were created.
Goines made history as the first black Navy SEAL when he became a member of SEAL Team Two at Little Creek in Virginia Beach.
“I don’t think he joined to say ‘I’m going to be a trailblazer.’ He just happened to be a trailblazer,” said Jones.
Jones describes his uncle as a quiet, family man and a father figure to him.
“One of the pieces of advice he gave me was you can’t have a defeatist attitude,” Jones explained. “For a 12-year-old, I said ‘What does that mean?’ He said ‘You don’t quit.’ When you think about the SEALs, that’s one of their mottos. So I guess I was getting SEAL training and didn’t even know it.”