Solomon “Sol” Atkinson was a member of the Navy’s first SEAL team and trained astronauts for their return to Earth.
This undated family photo shows Solomon Atkinson, the Metlakatla man who is the namesake of a new U.S. Navy ship. Atkinson was one of the first U.S. Navy SEALs, completed 22 years of active naval service and retired in 1973.
Born in 1930, Atkinson enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1952, becoming the first Alaska Native to join the Underwater Demolition Teams, the predecessor to the SEALs, which were created in 1962. Atkinson was a member of the inaugural SEAL Team 1. After retiring from the Navy in 1973, he returned to Metlakatla — Alaska’s sole Native reservation — and became a community organizer, mayor, and founder of the island community’s first veterans organization.
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