The 24th Infantry Regiment: the "Duece-Four" in Korea

Military Review,  Sept-Oct, 2003  by Bradley Biggs

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The 24th Infantry Regiment deserves to be remembered as the unit that brought into focus the enormous price in blood and treasure the United States paid for its national and military indulgence in racism. With unmistakable clarity, the 24th Infantry Regiment exposed the folly of military and civilian leaders who prolonged the absurdity of a segregated army. In this way, the men of the 24th Infantry Regiment hastened integration. Above all else, this is the Deuce-Four's legacy.

NOTES

(1.) Matthew B. Ridgeway, address given at West point, NY in 1990, quoted in Bradley Biggs, "Were Blacks Scapegoats for Our Failures in Korea?" (Unpublished article, 1993).

(2.) William T, Bowers, William M. Hammond, and George L. MacGarrigle, Black Soldier, White Army (Washington, DC: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1996), 93; Bradley Biggs, personal notes and memorabilia; Barton Biggs, audio collection.

(3.) Clay Blair, The Forgotten War: American in Korea 1950-1953 (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1989), 397.

(4.) Ibid., 153.

(5.) Charles M. Bussey. Firefight at Yechon: Courage and Racism in the Korean War (New York: Macmillan, Inc., 1991).

(6.) Blair, 152-53.

(7.) Bowers, Hammond, and MacGarrigle, 93; Department of Defense Staff Report, 24 July 1950, furnished to Bradley Biggs in 1996 by David L Carlisle, former First Lieutenant 77th Engineer Company, 25th Infantry Division.

(8.) Omar N. Bradley and Clay Blair, A General's Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983), 61B.

(9.) Ibid.

(10.) U.S. War Department, Board of Officer-Enlisted Men Ralationships Study, 27 May 1946.

(11.) James Gavin, interview by Bradley Biggs, Spring 1979.

(12.) Bradley and Blair, 474.

(13.) Ibid., 476.

(14.) Ibid., 485. The text of the executive order states: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that them shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Services, without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible [with] due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale."

(15.) Joseph E. Persico, Edward R. Murrow: An American Original (New York: Dell Publishing, 1988), 199.

(16.) Gerald Astor, The Right to Fight A History of African American in the Military (Novato, CA: Presidio Press. 1998). 293-94.

(17.) Joseph C. Goulden, Korea." The Untold Story of the War (New York: Times Books, 1982).

(18.) Ibid., 123.

(19.) Bowers, Hammond, and MacGarrigle, 261.

(20.) Eighth U.S. Army, Korea. General Order 717. Inactivation of Unit, 22 September 1951, cited and discussed in Bowers, Hammond, and MacGarrigle. 261-62.

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