It is said that during his enlistment he was often paid by other sailors to write love letters to their girlfriends. It was during his service in the Pacific theater of operations that Haley taught himself the craft of writing stories. His Coast Guard service number was 212-548. He enlisted as a mess attendant and then became a Petty Officer Third Class in the rate of Steward, one of the few rates open to African Americans at that time. On May 24, 1939, Alex Haley began his twenty-year enlistment with the Coast Guard. Simon Haley felt that Alex needed discipline and growth and convinced his son to enlist in the military when he turned 18. Two years later he returned to his parents to inform them of his withdrawal from college. Alex Haley was enrolled at Alcorn State University at age 15. The younger Haley always spoke proudly of his father and the obstacles of racism he had overcome. Haley's father was a professor of agriculture at Alabama A&M University. Haley lived with his family in Henning, Tennessee, before he returned to Ithaca with his family when he was five years old. Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, on August 11, 1921, and was the oldest of three brothers and a sister. He was the co-author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (Aug– February 10, 1992) was an African-American writer.
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