Integration of the Armed Forces | Page 4

relations in the military. If I sometimes disagreed with his interpretations and assessments, I never doubted his total dedication to the cause of the black serviceman. I owe a similar debt to Lt. Comdr. Dennis D. Nelson (USN Ret.) for sharing his intimate understanding of race relations in the Navy. A resourceful man with a sure social touch, he must have been one hell of a sailor.
I want to note the special contribution of several historians. Martin Blumenson was first assigned to this project, and before leaving the Center of Military History he assembled research material that proved most helpful. My former colleague John Bernard Corr prepared a study on the National Guard upon which my account of the guard is based. In addition, he patiently reviewed many pages of the draft (p.?xii) manuscript. His keen insights and sensitive understanding were invaluable to me. Professors Jack D. Foner and Marie Carolyn Klinkhammer provided particularly helpful suggestions in conjunction with their reviews of the manuscript. Samuel B. Warner, who before his untimely death was a historian in the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as a colleague of Lee Nichols on some of that reporter's civil rights investigations, also contributed generously of his talents and lent his support in the early days of my work. Finally, I am grateful for the advice of my colleague Ronald H. Spector at several key points in the preparation of this history.
I have received much help from archivists and librarians, especially the resourceful William H. Cunliffe and Lois Aldridge (now retired) of the National Archives and Dean C. Allard of the Naval Historical Center. Although the fruits of their scholarship appear often in my footnotes, three fellow researchers in the field deserve special mention: Maj. Alan M. Osur and Lt. Col. Alan L. Gropman of the U.S. Air Force and Ralph W. Donnelly, former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center. I have benefited from our exchange of ideas and have had the advantage of their reviews of the manuscript.
I am especially grateful for the generous assistance of my editors, Loretto C. Stevens and Barbara H. Gilbert. They have been both friends and teachers. In the same vein, I wish to thank John Elsberg for his editorial counsel. I also appreciate the help given by William G. Bell in the selection of the illustrations, including the loan of two rare items from his personal collection, and Arthur S. Hardyman for preparing the pictures for publication. I would like to thank Mary Lee Treadway and Wyvetra B. Yeldell for preparing the manuscript for panel review and Terrence J. Gough for his helpful pre-publication review.
Finally, while no friend or relative was spared in the long years I worked on this book, three colleagues especially bore with me through days of doubts and frustrations and shared my small triumphs: Alfred M. Beck, Ernest F. Fisher, Jr., and Paul J. Scheips. I also want particularly to thank Col. James W. Dunn. I only hope that some of their good sense and sunny optimism show through these pages.
Washington, D.C. MORRIS J. MACGREGOR, Jr. 14 March 1980

Contents (p.?xiii)
Chapter Page
1. INTRODUCTION............................................. 3 The Armed forces Before 1940............................ 3 Civil Rights and the Law in 1940........................ 8 To Segregate Is To Discriminate........................ 13 2. WORLD WAR II: THE ARMY.................................. 17 A War Policy: Reaffirming Segregation.................. 17 Segregation and Efficiency............................. 23 The Need for Change.................................... 34 Internal Reform: Amending Racial Practices............. 39 Two Exceptions......................................... 46 3. WORLD WAR II: THE NAVY.................................. 58 Development of a Wartime Policy........................ 59 A Segregated Navy...................................... 67 Progressive Experiments................................ 75 Forrestal Takes the Helm............................... 84 4. WORLD WAR II: THE MARINE CORPS AND THE COAST GUARD...... 99 The First Black Marines............................... 100 New Roles for Black Coast Guardsmen................... 112 5. A POSTWAR SEARCH....................................... 123 Black Demands......................................... 123 The Army's Grand Review............................... 130 The Navy's Informal Inspection........................ 143 6. NEW DIRECTIONS......................................... 152 The Gillem Board Report............................... 153 Integration of the General Service.................... 166 The Marine Corps...................................... 170 7. A PROBLEM OF QUOTAS.................................... 176 The Quota in Practice................................. 182 Broader Opportunities................................. 189 Assignments........................................... 194 A New Approach........................................ 198 The Quota System: An Assessment....................... 202 8. SEGREGATION'S CONSEQUENCES............................. 206 Discipline and Morale Among Black Troops.............. 206 Improving the Status of the Segregated Soldier........ 215 Discrimination and the Postwar Army................... 223 (p.?xiv) Segregation in Theory and Practice.................... 226 Segregation: An Assessment............................ 231 9. THE POSTWAR NAVY....................................... 234 The Steward's Branch.................................. 238 Black Officers........................................ 243 Public Image and the Problem of Numbers............... 248 10. THE POSTWAR MARINE CORPS.............................. 253 Racial Quotas and Assignments......................... 253 Recruitment........................................... 257 Segregation and Efficiency............................ 261 Toward Integration.................................... 266 11. THE POSTWAR AIR FORCE................................. 270 Segregation and Efficiency............................ 271 Impulse for Change.................................... 280 12. THE PRESIDENT INTERVENES.............................. 291 The Truman Administration and Civil Rights............ 292 Civil Rights and the Department of Defense............ 297 Executive Order 9981.................................. 309 13. SERVICE