Desegregation Offers Lessons for Gay Troops Debate: ...The stories of Woods and other Black veterans who served among the military's first desegregated units during the Korean conflict may bear lessons at a time when Americans are debating an end to “don't ask, don't tell.'' The 1993 policy that bars gays from serving openly in uniform has been challenged by a federal court and President Barack Obama and is under review by the Pentagon.
Though the military may now seem to lag behind America's acceptance of gays in civilian life, the armed forces led the charge in ending racial segregation in the 1940s and '50s.
Efforts to integrate the ranks began right after World War II, culminating with President Harry S. Truman signing a 1948 executive order banning racial discrimination in the military.
