Re: Race Relations and Korea

[<KEACLA1@aol.com>]

Marc James Small wrote:

<< Again, though, the American military began the Korean War with no
 significant black presence.  The Navy had no blacks on combat vessels, I
 believe >>

There was never, as far as I know, a prohibition against blacks on combat 
ships.  But blacks were limited mainly to duty as stewards, although they 
sometimes served on gun crews when at General Quarters (and one black sailor, 
Dorie Miller, won the Navy Cross at Pearl Harbor for courage in manning a 
machine gun on battleship West Virginia).  There were a few exceptions; the 
Navy did have a few experimental all-black ships during World War II (I'm not 
sure whether the officers were black).

     Regards,
     Keith Allen