[The following article was written by Pentagram staff writer Delonte Harrod, and published February 08, 2018. All credit goes to the Pentagram and Harrod.]
African-American Maryland National Guard fight in Korean War, desegregation
From the beginning of this country's history African-Americans have fought in its wars. They did so knowing they were helping others fight for the equality they lacked. Although fighting for the freedom of others didn't equate to freedom for African-American soldiers, Maryland National Guardsmen joined the fight during the Korean War.
The Maryland National Guard's 231st Transportation Truck Battalion, an African-American unit, stands within an African-American tradition of serving with dignity while in a segregated guard. However, the battalion composed of three truck companies, which completed their mission and upheld the ideals of democracy in Korea during the Korean War.
The Korean War started in the 1950s and the Guard was sent to support the troops, said Joseph Balkoski, military historian and author. "We had what was called the transportation truck battalion here in the Maryland Guard and it was mobilized and sent to Korea," said Balkoski.
There's a reason why the battalion was only composed of African-Americans. Although President Harry S. Truman integrated the military on July 26, 1948 with Executive Order 9981, according to Balkoski that didn't influence the Maryland National Guard. Balkoski said the Maryland National Guard is a state organization that was under the authority of the governor of Maryland, who didn't want to follow Executive Order 9981 and desegregate. "The governors, depending on their interpretation, didn't really feel obligated in some circumstances to follow the Army's lead in integrating," said Balkoski. "The Army was integrating prior to the start of the Korean War, but in the Maryland National Guard, which was probably typical of many Southern states, units did not integrate."
In 1950, the 231st Transportation Battalion, with only two of its truck companies, were ordered to active duty to support troops in Korea. However, the unit was split up. The 165th Truck Company was ordered to stay in Baltimore, while Headquarters and Headquarters Company and the 726th Transportation Truck Company were ordered to Korea in 1950, arriving on December 31.
"Primarily, they hauled ammunition and rations," said Balkoski. "However, in some circumstances, they also moved large bodies of troops, typically 20 to 25 men per truck." Being in Korea helped to change ethnic makeup of the 231st Transportation Truck Battalion. The unit went from being all African-American to being ethnically diverse. Integration of the Guard was now happening not on American soil, but on foreign soil. Black and white men serving alongside each other to complete a mission that was new for the Maryland National Guard. Yet, this doesn't necessarily mean the men got along.
The men returned home from the Korean War to a state that valued segregation. Maj. Gen. Milton Reckord, who served 45 years, wanted to maintain a segregated Maryland National Guard. Under Reckord's reign, the unit had three all African-American units and 80 white units. The men re-entered a segregated state and military after being integrated during the Korean War.
Segregation had its consequences. The men understood this and if the Maryland National Guard was going to remain segregated it would mean that they could only serve in those units, according to Balkoski. And that would limit their careers in the Guard. "They would have been limited to the transportation or the quartermaster branch of the Army," said Balkoski. "There's nothing wrong with that, but that might not have been the career path that a soldier may have wanted to follow. Let's say they wanted to be in the infantry, but they literally could not be in the infantry because there was no infantry unit in the Maryland National Guard that would accept them."
Fighting alongside their white brothers sparked something in them. According to a 2009 Washington Post article on the 231st, some of the men quit the Maryland National Guard when they returned home, joining civil rights groups to lobby against then Maryland governor Theodore Mckeldin and Reckord. "They simply refused to go back into the Guard and face that kind of treatment," Louis S. Diggs, who served in a company under the 231st, told the Washington Post in 2009. Balkoski said Reckord eventually integrated the Maryland National Guard because he was pressured to do so by McKeldin.
In 1955, the Maryland National Guard was integrated. Since, then the men of 231st Transportation Truck Battalion have been recognized by the Maryland National Guard for their service and all that they endured.
