What impact did the movement toward integration of the U.S. Armed Forces have on the conduct of the Korean War?
The outstanding performance of racial minority service members during World War II and the civil rights movement in the postwar years compelled the services to reexamine their traditional practice of segregation. The different services moved toward integration in different ways, but during the Korean War all had the same need for resources and sought ways to employ them more rationally and economically. Not long after the war started, manpower shortages plagued all services and segregated units only aggravated the manpower situation. As replacements arrived in Korea, it was administratively and logistically labor intensive to maintain segregation. A fighting man was a fighting man regardless of race. Desegregation came about because segregation no longer made any sense and was a drag on the system. In short, integration meant a more effective use of manpower and made meeting the personnel requirements of the war easier, probably helping to create a more effective fighting force.
