The Face of the US Military (Part 1- Korea)

Every single conflict of the United States, from the War of Independence to the Civil War, and from WW1 to WW2, has had colored units and servicemen from all ethnic and racial backgrounds. It is the sad fact that these brave soldiers were often segregated, relegated, and ignored despite fighting just as well, if not better, than their Caucasian counterparts. The honored 54th Massachusetts that fought so bravely for the North in the Civil War did not earn a desegregated armed forces. The bravery of the 369th Infantry Regiment of WW1 did not convince the American people of the merits of colored soldiers.

Only after the outstanding heroism of massive numbers of minorities during WW2, the 92nd Infantry, the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the tens of thousands of Latino-Americans, and the thousands of Native Americans did a desegregated army truly begin to take hold. Finally, on July 26, 1948, President Truman passed Executive Order 9981 which stated that, "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."¹ The United States Navy and Air Force integrated within two years, but there was significantly more resistance in the army.

The Army is "not an instrument for social evolution... It follows that in the interest of efficient national defense, certain types of units should be entirely or largely confined to white troops" -Kenneth Royall, Secretary of the Army, 1949²

Despite the obstructionist actions of much of the Southern wing of Congress as well as many U.S. Army generals, the executive order went through. The largest group that would be effected by this decree were African Americans who made up nearly 10% of the United States Army.³ The Army used quotas and racial discrimination to prevent the promotion of African Americans and to limit the amount of African Americans that fought in each unit. The Korean was the first test of this process of desegregation. With the failure of the 24th Infantry Unit to minimize its casualties, more and more inexperienced Caucasian officers and troops were being assigned to fill in roles they did not have the experience for. With a lack of any other options, US high command began to unofficially replenish the 24th Infantry with African Americans, who were often serving on garrison duty only. With no decrease in combat efficiency despite a desegregated unit, it was finally seen that African Americans were equally powerful soldiers who could fight just as well as anyone else. In 1951, the quota cap of the number of African Americans per unit was abolished. In 1954 the last segregated unit was desegregated and the entirety of the United States Armed Forces was no longer racially split.⁴

American soldiers of the U.S. Second Infantry, 1950⁷

Despite all of this, heavy prejudices still floated around amongst the soldiers serving in the armed forces. There would often be two reactions from the soldiers to this process ranging from KKK sympathizers who fought against a desegregated military. The other group had often seen Blacks in combat alongside themselves and were in full support of a desegregated military because they no longer saw them as inferior soldiers.

The Korean War was also a test for all other groups of minority soldiers serving in the armed forces. The Japanese Americans who proved themselves in the 442nd just 6 years before in the mountains of Italy proved themselves once more in Korea. Thousands were sent over as translators and served in largely Asian-American units despite officially segregated units no longer existing. Native Americans provided the largest group as a percentage of their population in the United States. The Navajo communicators were crucial to an American victory and the fighting units saw the bravery of Native American soldiers. These soldiers knew that the United States was their home as well and would send large portions of their tribal members to enlist, and sometimes nearly 10% of their tribe would be sent overseas.⁵ Hispanics, particularly the Puerto Ricans in the 65th infantry, fought hard and were fully integrated into the US army in 1953. Latinos had been in integrated units in WW2, and had proven their fighting ability in both Europe and the Philippines.⁶ Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and native Americans all faced massive discrimination back home and proved their loyalty and dedication to the United States in yet another war.

Truman's executive order and the Korean War established the creation of a fully desegregated United States Armed Forces for the first time in the history of the United States military. Groups that proved themselves consistently in WW1, WW2, and the Korean War finally won the victories they were striving for. Though some minority groups, namely the Latino Americans, did not serve in segregated units, they still fought for racial equality in the armed forces. This new multi-racial force was not the first in the world, but it was the first the United States had ever had. It would be the armed forces the United States would eventually bring to Vietnam in the mid 1960's.

1. http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=84
2. The Double V: How Wars, Protest, and Harry Truman Desegregated America's Military
3. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/stevens/africanamer.htm
4. http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/diversity.html
5. http://www.shsu.edu/his_ncp/NAWWII.html
6. http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageinitiatives/latino/latinothemestudy/military.htm
7. Photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Warkorea_American_Soldiers.jpg