Copyright by Cameron Demetrius Mccoy 2017
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Copyright by Cameron Demetrius McCoy 2017 The Dissertation Committee for Cameron Demetrius McCoy certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT OF THE MARINES? THE POLITICS OF CONTESTED INTEGRATION AND THE DOMESTIC LEGACY OF THE MODERN BLACK LEATHERNECK IN COLD WAR AMERICA Committee: Leonard N. Moore, Supervisor Jeremi Suri Henry W. Brands Louis Harrison Marcus S. Cox MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT OF THE MARINES? THE POLITICS OF CONTESTED INTEGRATION AND THE DOMESTIC LEGACY OF THE MODERN BLACK LEATHERNECK IN COLD WAR AMERICA by Cameron Demetrius McCoy, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2017 Ductus Exemplo Acknowledgements This project received support from several institutions. I wish to thank the University of Texas at Austin Department of History and the Office of Graduate Studies; the Marine Corps History Division and Library of the Marine Corps; the Marine Corps University, Archives and Special Collections Branch, Gray Research Center; the United States Army Military History Institute; the William M. Randall Library Special Collections at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington; the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History; the Lyndon Baines Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman Presidential Libraries and Museums; and the Pat Tillman Foundation, and Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for funding much of my research. The members of each institution provided me with valuable advice and assistance, encouragement, and renewed ambition. Throughout my academic career, I have been supremely blessed with extraordinary friends and mentors. While an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, Kendall W. Brown and Paul S. Kerry introduced me to history in compelling ways and taught me what it meant to be a historian. During my time at Texas A&M University, Joseph G. Dawson III, Albert S. Broussard, Brian M. Linn, and Silvia D. Hoffert broadened my historical aperture and demonstrated the purist form of pedagogue. At the University of Texas at Austin, Jeremi Suri, a brilliant historian and dedicated mentor, exposed me to greater techniques of conceptualization, research approaches, and the craft of rigorous scholarship. v Most of all, I owe a special debt, and have benefitted from the consistent support of my advisor, Leonard N. Moore. From day one, he was a pillar of both personal and professional reinforcement, instilling in me the confidence to vigorously pursue my historical visions. Furthermore, he encouraged me to see the value in pursuing this specific course of research concerning the Cold War experiences of African American Marines. Your friendship and mentoring were potent ingredients that enhanced my overall graduate experience. My dissertation committee is top notch, each member required me to strive for the highest in academic standards of accuracy, clarity, and organization. I am eternally grateful to H. W. Brands, Louis Harrison, and Marcus S. Cox for their guidance, patience, and above all, their time during this process. This project would not be where it is today without your collective feedback and sage remarks. I would also like to thank Emilio Zamora for believing in me and encouraging me to apply to the University of Texas at Austin, and for all his professional advice regarding the various aspects of the history profession. In addition, Juliet E. K. Walker for providing me with the opportunity to give a World War II lecture every spring semester in her African American history course, and allowing me to serve as an editor for the Undergraduate Journal of Black Business History. The relationships forged during the making of this project are ultimately more meaningful than the finished product itself. The friendship and collegiality of Mark R. Eaker, Geoff S. Connor, and Ismael Silva-Delgadillo made my time at the University of Texas at Austin memorable. Furthermore, my research has led to unexpected vi opportunities, such as my recent position as a postdoctoral fellow in American history at the United States Military Academy at West Point. This fellowship has assisted in providing me with the necessary tools and focus to complete this project, hone my craft as an educator and historian, and has served as an essential component in my development as an academic and scholar; I am grateful to the department faculty and staff, it is a time and place I will never forget. As in all things, I would not have come this far without the support and love of my family. Special thanks to my first critical reader, Jennifer, for reading through hundreds of pages of text without complaint and tremendous patience. Semper Fidelis. vii Mr. President, What of the Marines? The Politics of Contested Integration and the Domestic Legacy of the Modern Black Leatherneck in Cold War America Cameron Demetrius McCoy, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2017 Supervisor: Leonard Nathaniel Moore During the fall of 1944 in the bitterest battle of World War II for U.S. Marines, a platoon of African American Marines fought their way to capture an airstrip and save a company of embattled Marines, who happened to be white. After the Battle of Peleliu, no one heard about the unit’s heroic deeds. These black heroes, like so many others in wars past, received no medals; no front-page news story covered the events that occurred on the small coral island, nor were there any rumors of their actions. Nevertheless, at the conclusion of World War II, these men returned to the United States only to have the merits of their wartime achievements questioned. This project is an examination of the utilization and status of black Marines in combat during the Cold War era. It is about moments like the Battle of Peleliu and how these men endured contested military integration, multiple forms of institutional and social opposition, which called their humanity, manhood, and rights to full citizenship into question. Efforts to delegitimize their service compromised their right to be counted among the elite and sidelined their story to the fringes of Marine Corps and American viii history. It explores the creation of these organizational policies designed to minimize their footprint as U.S. Marines until the social experiment of military integration faded, and illustrates the discriminatory practices that further delegitimize their wartime reputation. This project describes the factors and pressures leading to the racial turbulence that surfaced in the Marine Corps from the end of World War II through Vietnam, and the measures taken by civilian and Marine officials to maintain and restore organizational integrity. It further examines the psychological effects of institutionalized racism on African American Marines during the Vietnam era and the emergence of a new generation of blacks unwilling to submit to the traditions of a Jim Crow Marine Corps. Furthermore, by exploring the realities American society created about black Marines, this project investigates the various ways in which these men coped within a strict prejudiced organization and found greater purpose as U.S. Marines despite an embattled image. ix Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Cultural Dynamics of African American Marines in the Common Defense................................................................................................................................1 The Tradition Begins...............................................................................................5 Chapter 2: The Black Leatherneck Experience in Modern Warfare.................................33 The “Race Question” and the Army Way of Segregation.....................................37 Democracy in Words, Jim Crow in Deeds............................................................48 Chapter 3: You People: Things Must Be Rough for Uncle Sam.......................................59 Letter of Instruction No. 421.................................................................................68 Chapter 4: United We Win?: Cultural Myths, Images, and Popular Mass Media..........114 MEN OF COLOR: To Arms! To Arms! NOW OR NEVER..............................130 The Ripples of War, Pride, and Prejudice...........................................................140 Chapter 5: A Return to Normalcy: What Are You Doing Saluting that Nigger?............163 Is it Safe for Democracy?....................................................................................174 Chapter 6: Growing Pains: Black Solidarity and the Arsenal of White Supremacy.......216 Afros & ‘New Salute’: Recognition, Unity, and ‘New Brother’ Stuff................250 Chapter 7: Contested Legitimacy: Scarlet & Gold and Black.........................................264 Natal Alienation...................................................................................................276 Dishonor...............................................................................................................278 Gratuitous Violence.............................................................................................281 The Black Great Awakening...............................................................................282 From Integration to Diversity..............................................................................290 Appendix A.....................................................................................................................304