Nathaniel Walter Goins, Jr.
February 1918-1970 – March 30, 1970
Class: 45-H-TE
Graduation date: 11/20/1945
Rank at time of graduation: 1st Lt.
Service # 0582758
From: St. Paul MN
Nathaniel Walter Goins, Jr. was the second of three children born of N. Walter Goins, Sr. and Blanche Walker Johnson Goins of Saint Paul. Minnesota. Walter was reared under the community influence of Pilgrim Baptist Church and Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School and Macalester College.
Goins applied for enlistment with the Army Air Corps at Fort Snelling, Minnesota in early 1942; his application being rejected because the Air Corps was segregated. Goins had passed all of the cognitive and physical requirements for enlistment, however. Goins sought the aid of close family friend and World War I hero, Major Samuel Ransom, to reverse the decision of Fort Snelling’s recruiters, but to no avail.
Goins started his military career as an enlisted man in August of 1942, stationed in Fort Scott, Illinois. During his Fort Scott service, Goins learned that the Army’s “experiment” with “colored flyers” was proving successful. Goins applied for flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama. He was sent to AFF Officers Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fl. Upon receiving his commission to Second Lieutenant, Goins was then assigned to staff duty at Tuskegee.
Goins was the Adjutant for Colonel Noel Parrish, commander of Tuskegee Army Air Field. 1st Lt. Goins coordinated a squadron of 500 enlisted men and 96 officers. He assumed command during the absence of the commanding officer, and performed all general duties incident to the administration of the organization.
Goins was allowed to enter the 40-week Two Engine AAF Flying School at Tuskegee. He graduated with Class 45-H in October of 1945. Goins was then assigned duties as a Flight Test Maintenance Officer with Squadron C at Tuskegee where he assisted in flight test operations in B-25’s and AT-6 aircraft. He also flew the P-51 and B-29 aircraft prior to leaving active duty.
It was during his assignment to Tuskegee, Walter met Jean Clements Turner who was the daughter of the Registrar at Tuskegee Institute. Jean and Walter married in 1947 and made their home in Saint Paul (now White Bear Lake), Minnesota. Walter worked for the U.S. Post Office and Jean was a remedial reading teacher in the North Saint Paul Public Schools. They had four children.
After World War II, Walter served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve 934th Air Lift Wing at Twin Cities Wold-Chamberlain Field. In 1952, Walter was crippled by polio and resigned his Air Force commission in 1954.
Walter and Jean were active in the NAACP, Urban League, and other civil rights organizations. Walter was an active member of the Minnesota DFL Party. He was deacon in Pilgrim Baptist Church, and served as the Chair of the Macalester College Alumni Committee. His final assignment with the Post Office was as a Postal Inspector for a five-state region.
Unwilling to submit to the paralysis sustained by 4 months in an iron lung, his life was shortened significantly by the bout with polio. He died in 1970.
Sources:
Findagrave.com
Pioneers of equality: History of a White Bear-area family By Albert Turner Goins, Sr./Special to the Press Feb 22, 2023
