Memorandum Regarding the President's Civil Rights Message on the Armed Forces

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON May 11, 1948. TRUMAN NATIONAL ARGHIVES AMD RECERDS SERVICE The exact wording of the paragraph in the President's Civil Rights Message on the Armed Forces is as follows: I have instructed the Secretary of Defense to take steps to have the remaining instances of start discrimination in the armed services eliminated as rapidly as possible. The personnel policies and practices of all the services in this regard will be made consistent. In the discussion this afternoon, we should be working generally for equality of opportunity in the Armed Forces both in the regular and reserve components and for consistency among the three services. Navy has an excellent non-segregation policy with a gradual implementation which is generally regarded by Negroes as satisfactory. Air Forces is starting out with the Army's policy of limited segregation, represented by the Gillem Board Report. Army's rather limited policy, however, has quite good implementation; better than Navy's. The ideal solution would be a general defense establishment policy similar to Navy's with Army-type implementation. I would suggest that we ask the Secretaries present this afternoon to: (a) create a defense establishment board similar to the Gillem Board, charged with the development of a uniform racial policy in the Services consistent with the President's two goals of equal opportunity and non- discrimination. (b) organize an inter-service committee similar to the old War Department Committee on Troop Policy operating under McCloy, which would be responsible for the development of procedures under the coordinated policy.