Roscoe Cartwright

Roscoe Conklin "Rock" Cartwright (May 27, 1919 – December 1, 1974) was the United States' second-ever African American U.S. Army brigadier general, third-ever black American U.S. general officer, and the first black field artilleryman promoted to brigadier general.

Early life, education and personal life Cartwright was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on May 27, 1919. Raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cartwright graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1936.

While temporarily stationed at Camp Robinson near Little Rock, Arkansas, Cartwright married Gloria Lacefied Cartwright, a native of Hope, Arkansas. They had four children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Military career

In 1941, the U.S. Army drafted Cartwright into the US Army as an enlisted man. Cartwright's flight was the worst air disaster of 1974. Cartwright and Gloria were returning from visiting their daughter for Thanksgiving. Cartwright co-founded on October 9, 1974 The Rocks, Inc., the largest professional military officers organization with a majority African-American membership. The organization has been essential in the development of black military officers including member Colin Powell, as discussed in his autobiography.