In 1969, NBC premiered The Ship That Wouldn’t Die, a documentary about the USS Franklin (CV-13). Filmed aboard the carrier before she was sold for scrap by the Navy, the program was narrated by Gene Kelly and featured interviews with men who were serving as officers or crewmen during the Japanese bombing attack on March 19, 1945.
One of those interviewed was Amos N. “Nat” Shields, Steward’s Mate, who was below decks when the bombs hit. He spoke in the documentary about finding his way up to the flight deck and working to help save the ship.
Shields enlisted in the Navy in October 1943, during his senior year of high school. At the time, he had already been working as a cobbler at a shoe repair shop in Pittsburgh since the age of fourteen, and he repaired radios as a hobby.
The Navy was still segregated when Shields enlisted. As was the case for many Black enlistees, he was assigned to the Steward’s Branch. In a 2012 interview published in a Pittsburgh newspaper article, Shields recalled his assignment. “I told them I was a shoemaker, but they still made me a Steward,” he said.
After basic training at Naval Training Station Bainbridge, Maryland, Amos was transferred to Naval Training Station Newport, Rhode Island and reported to the USS Franklin (CV-13) on 20 December 1943.
Shields was a Franklin plank owner and a member of the 704 Club, meaning his service encompassed the ship’s entire combat career. He served aboard the Franklin from before her commissioning on 31 January 1944, through shakedown and training, her entry into combat, multiple Pacific engagements, the kamikaze attack of 30 October 1944, the change of command from Captain James Shoemaker to Captain Leslie Gehres, the devastating bombing of 19 March 1945, and the long voyage home to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was transferred to another ship on 7 November 1945, just three months before the Franklin was decommissioned. Shields was honorably discharged from the Navy in May of 1946.
Seventy-nine years later, in early October, we had the privilege of interviewing five members of Mr. Shields’ family: his youngest brother, Lamont B. “Monte” Shields, Lamont’s wife, Mary, Amos’ nephew, Lewis Clark, and two of Amos’ children, Anita V. “Vicki” Jackson and Nathan Shields. Together, they comprised the largest single family group we have interviewed for the documentary.
The Shields family invited us to conduct the interview at Morningside Church of God in Christ, the church founded in 1929 by Amos and Lamont’s parents, Walter and Beulah Shields, and where Lamont is the head pastor. The congregation relocated to its current site in Pittsburgh in 1952, and the church was later reconstructed and expanded in 1980.
The film crew for this shoot was Tim O’Laughlin, Director of Photography, Caleb McLaughlin, Camera Ops, and Zach Noblitt, Sound Mixer.
The church was a beautiful and meaningful location for the filming, not only because Amos and Lamont’s parents founded the church, but also because Amos’ contributions to the church were immortalized in the stained glass windows that he and his wife Emma had donated for the building.
During the interview, the group spoke about Amos Shields’ survival as a teenager aboard the Franklin throughout the war, especially on 19 March 1945, his post-war fearlessness in standing up for what he believed was right, and his enduring dedication to his immediate and extended family. In one touching moment, Lamont recalled going with his parents to the train station to pick up his big brother when he returned from the war.
Sadly, Lamont Shields passed away five weeks after the interview. We were privileged to have met him and to have heard his story, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, Mary, his children, and the rest of the Shields family.
