"Bug-Out Boogie" - The Swan Song of Segregation In The United States Army: Desegregtion During the Korean War and Dissolution of the All-Black 24th Infantry Regiment

Abstract

In tracing the origins of the movement to desegregate the U.S. Army, most scholars pointed to President Truman's Executive Order 9981 signed on July 26, 1948. Other scholars highlighted the work done by the President's Committee on Equality and Opportunity in the Armed Services, also known as the Fahy Committee, which was formed as a result of Order 9981. However, when the United States was compelled to take military action following the surprise attack by North Korean forces on June 25, 1950, the U.S. Army units sent into action in Korea were mostly composed of segregated units such as the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment. The 24th Infantry Regiment and other segregated units continued to be maintained by the U.S. Army despite the efforts of the president, prominent civilians, military leaders, and the Fahy Committee, to desegregate the armed forces. A reason espoused by scholars for why the U.S. Army was ultimately integrated was due to manpower shortages created by combat in Korea and the removal of quota restrictions on the enlistment of African American soldiers during the war. All three theories have their strengths and cannot be discounted entirely. This study argues that the racial animosity by a large segment of senior military officers, such as Lieutenant General Edward Almond, and their attempts to portray African American soldiers and African American units as incompetent actually backfired and instead of providing the justification for continued segregation, actually gave men like General Ridgway the excuse to force the integration of the Army in Korea. The 24th Infantry Regiment in particular was singled out, often without cause, for incompetence. Using interviews from the Army Center of Military History study Black Soldier White Army, this study will show that the men of the Fighting 24th actually showed incredible courage and determination against both the enemy forces they faced and a military leadership that demoralized and belittled them as soldiers.