Korean War, Moving Up to Firing Line, 1950
Captioned: "Men of the 24th Infantry Regiment move up to the firing line in Korea." In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 integrating the military and mandating equality of treatment and opportunity. It also made it illegal, per military law, to make a racist remark. Desegregation of the military was not complete for several years, and all-black Army units persisted well into the Korean War. The last all-black unit wasn't disbanded until 1954. Despite the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948 by Executive Order 9981, the 24th Infantry remained predominantly African-American, with an officer corps of both African and European (white) Americans. In late June 1950, soon after North Korea invaded South Korea, the 24th deployed to Korea to assist in the Korean War. The regiment received the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for its defense of the Pusan Perimeter. The regiment also had two posthumous Medal of Honor recipients, Cornelius Charlton and William Thompson. The 24th Infantry Regiment was active from 1869 until 1951, and again from 1995 until 2006. The regiment is notable for having a colorfully checkered history, with a record of mostly meritorious service and valorous combat performance, marred by episodes such as the Houston Riot of 1917 and deficiencies in command leadership during the Korean War. Photograph credited to Army, July 18, 1950.
Size: 4500px × 3032px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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