General Accounting Office Seng: You struck a dagger in my heart by saying that "Flapjack" is "the most ridiculous alias ever." I am deeply wounded, as is my sister, Mrs. Butterworth.
Here's more on Harry Truman and the integration of the military. (Did you know that Truman also signed into law in 1948 the Women's Armed Forces Integration Act? Probably not.)
nationalhistoryday.org
"Despite ... discrimination, African-Americans distinguished themselves in combat, earning numerous citations for bravery. Many of the black veterans came home determined to fight for their civil rights and to end segregation in America. Their struggle bore fruit on July 26, 1948, when President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, calling on the armed forces to provide equal treatment and opportunity for black servicemen.
"Historians praise this order as the capstone of Harry Truman’s civil rights program. Whatever his concerns for justice, President Truman had many reasons to integrate the military. African American leaders had threatened to lead a boycott of the armed forces if segregation did not end. Such a boycott could seriously damage military preparedness, since blacks represented 10 percent of the nation’s population. Added to this was the fact that segregation had become a diplomatic liability. As the U.S. engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, racial segregation in American society was a huge embarassment for the country when it tried to appeal to developing nations whose populations were largely non-white. Finally, African-Americans had become an important part of the Democratic coalition, and the president was campaigning for re-election in the summer of 1948, when he called for an end to segregation in the military.
"Of all the armed services, the Navy was the most eager to cooperate with the order to integrate, building on its experience during World War II. The Air Force had also already made plans to end segregation at the time of the presidential order. The Marine Corps’ small size made its resistance less noticeable. As the largest service, the Army’s cooperation was vital to the success of Truman’s integration plan, but the Army moved toward integration as slowly as it could." |
