Project 888

USS Indianapolis CA-35

Lost At Sea

Jackson LATIGUE

Name: Jackson LATIGUE Rank / Rating: STM1-Steward's Mate First Class Service #: 846 69 26 DOB: Feb 08, 1925 From: Chloe, LA Parents: Joseph and Alice Latigue Went Aboard: Sep 01, 1943 Age When Ship Went Down: 20 years, 5 months, 22 days Spouse: Children: Grandchildren: Bio Submitted By: Jane Gwinn Goodall	LATIGUE, Jackson
Click or Tap to View Draft Card Front	Click or Tap to View Draft Card Back
Jackson Latigue was born in Chloe, Calcasieu Parish, in the southwestern portion of Louisiana on 8 February 1925. He was the second-born child of parents Joseph and Alice Latigue. The family lived in Iowa, Louisiana within ten miles of Latigue’s birthplace. He had three brothers and three sisters. The census information found for 1940 confirmed all the children except the oldest brother, Wallace (1916), which was found on an Ancestry.com family tree. The names of his other siblings are brothers, Aaron (1921) and Wedges (1931-1947), and sisters Beaulah Mae (1927), Lebbon (Ollie) (1929), and Julia (1933).
According to his draft registration card, he signed up for the service on 12 February 1943 -- just four days after his 18th birthday. He listed himself as an unemployed schoolboy on his registration card. His next of kin was listed as “Ellis” (assumed to be his mother Alice) Latigue from Iowa, Louisiana. Just five months later, on 6 July 1943, Jackson Latigue enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Lafayette, Louisiana, sixty-two miles away from his residence. Latigue was received aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35) as a Steward’s Mate Second Class on 1 September 1943 from the Naval Receiving Station in San Francisco. He came aboard on the same date as shipmate Felix Hayles. Eleven months later, Jackson Latigue was promoted to Steward’s Mate First Class on 1 October 1944. Latigue was on Indianapolis for eight out the ten engagements for which the ship was awarded Battle Stars beginning with the Gilbert Islands Operation in November-December 1943. His last engagement before the final mission was the Battle for Okinawa and the Kamikaze attack on 31 March 1945. He was 20 years old when the ship was sunk. He was not married and had no children. Notification of his death was sent to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Latigue, Lake Charles, Louisiana.

We welcome your submission of additional biographical Information and/or photo(s) to further enhance Project 888's posting for Jackson LATIGUE. Please use the "Upload Bios" in the menu for biographical information and the "Upload Photos" to submit photos.

Jackson LATIGUE, STM1-Steward's Mate First Class, was one of 28 African-American men who were members of the Steward Branch, the only division on the ship in which there was not a single survivor. The restricted duties of the Steward Branch were to serve the officers of the ship, including the admiral's and captain's wardrooms, dining areas and sleeping quarters. The services were essential to the smooth and efficient running of Indianapolis. Many of Indianapolis's African-American crew members voluntarily performed duties as gunners' mates, assigned to a specific battle station as one complete unit. More details about the valuable service of these men can be found by reading the book: 'Heroes in the Shadows: The Untold Story of the African American Sailors Aboard USS Indianapolis (CA-35)', by Jane Gwinn Goodall, with contributions from Janice Alston and Arlene Taylor (Henry Jackson, StM1), Jeanette Pitts, M.D. (Albert Rice, StM1), and Jacqueline Dugan and Ernestine Peete (Magellan Williams, StM1).