On 26 July 1948, President Harry S Truman signed Executive Order 9981, establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. It was accompanied by Executive Order 9980, which created a Fair Employment Board to eliminate racial discrimination in federal employment.

Segregation in the military services did not officially end until the Secretary of Defense announced on 30 September 1954 that the last all-black unit had been abolished. However, the president’s directive put the armed forces (albeit reluctantly) at the forefront of the growing movement to win a fully participatory social role for the nation’s African-American citizens.

The true fulfillment of the entire scope of Executive Order 9981—equality of treatment and opportunity—actually required an additional change in Defense Department policy. This occurred with the publication of Department of Defense Directive 5120.36 on 26 July 1963, 15 years to the day after Truman signed the original order. This major about-face in policy issued by Secretary of Defense Robert J. McNamara expanded the military’s responsibility to include the elimination of off-base discrimination detrimental to the military effectiveness of black servicemen.

As part of a continuing observance of Executive Order 9981, the U.S. Army Materiel Command requested that each of its major subordinate commands develop a program of events to support this commemoration. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Historical Function's contribution will be a series of articles and chronologies detailing not only the ongoing process of eliminating discrimination in the Department of Defense but highlighting African Americans’ distinguished military contributions. To keep these issues in perspective, some background information on the effort to ensure black civil rights will also be included.