I'm glad WWII vets aren't alive to witness this disgrace that has been created during the peace they fought to create. But they are rolling over in their graves.
> "It's important to note that Blacks and other servicemen of color returning to the states during that time were prohibited from taking advantage of the GI Bill, despite that being a promise to them at discharge."
It also looks like the services wouldn't desegregate until at least Korea, or even the mid-1960s:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_9981
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100723014433/http://www.histor...
> "Originally a follower of civilian society in racial matters, the armed forces moved ahead in the 1950's and by the mid-1960's had become a powerful stimulus for change in civilian practices in some areas of the country."
more of the same at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24333207
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta...
enlistments (far below): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_minorities_in_the_US_ar...
The WP text seems to quote the following directly: https://history.army.mil/documents/wwii/minst.htm
> "The reasons why relatively few Negroes enlisted during World war II were numerous. The principal one, however, was the severe restrictions placed against Negro enlistments by the armed forces, which, in some periods, amounted to complete prohibition."