Size: 6 linear feet (ca. 12,000 pages). Also available on microfilm (11 rolls).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Documents prepared by United States Government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents that do not fall into this category is presumed to remain with the authors of the documents, or their heirs.

The President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services was established by Executive Order 9981, on July 26, 1948, to recommend revisions in military regulations in order to implement the government's policy of desegregation of the armed services. The Government's policy, announced in the same order, was that there was to be equality of treatment and opportunity for all members of the armed forces, regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin. The seven-member advisory committee, which was chaired by Charles Fahy, was more commonly known as the Fahy Committee. The Fahy Committee terminated upon submission of its final report on May 22, 1950. The final report of the committee was published as an eighty-two-page document entitled Freedom to Serve.

The Fahy Committee was created within the National Military Establishment and had the following members: Charles Fahy, Charles Luckman, Lester Granger, John H. Sengstacke, William E. Stevenson, Dwight Palmer and Alphonsus J. Donahue. All departments and agencies of the Federal Government were instructed to cooperate with the committee and furnish it with information or services as required. The committee conducted an inquiry; examined the rules and practice of the armed services; and made recommendations for policy improvements to carry out the mandate of the Executive Order 9981. All of the committee's recommendations were approved and accepted by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the service secretaries.

The Records of the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, also known as the Fahy Committee (Record Group 220), came to the Truman Library from the National Archives in 1968. The records mostly cover the period from 1949 to 1950, the life-span of the committee, and document the formation of the committee and its work in behalf of racial integration of the armed services.

The Fahy Committee was responsible for implementing the government's policy of desegregation of the armed services. The committee conducted inquiries; examined the regulations and practices of the armed services; and made recommendations for policy improvements to carry out the mandate of Executive Order 9981.

The collection is comprised of eighteen series. The first six series are administrative in nature and document the daily workings of the committee. The series are: Inventory of the Fahy Committee Files; Fahy Committee Members and Staff; Fahy Committee Meetings; Reports to the White House; Final Report; and General Correspondence.

These first six series include: an inventory of the collection; individual staff and committee member folders that contain mostly outgoing correspondence; the notes, agendas and transcripts of actual committee meetings; progress reports to the White House that include findings and recommendations; the final Fahy Committee report with various drafts, corrections, and press releases associated with its release; and, lastly, the general correspondence file of the committee. These six series document the procedures used by the committee and its administrative operations.

The next series of records relate to the military services. The series are: Air Force, Armed Services, Army, Army Policy, Civilian Components [National Guard], Coast Guard, and Navy. These records document the committee's interaction with the military. The documents in these series relate specifically to inquiries, policies, manpower studies, and recommendations. They are grouped alphabetically under the specific service or area to which they pertain. They include items such as studies of past policies, hearing transcripts, investigations, integration statistics, findings, commendations, drafts, correspondence, pamphlets, regulations, press releases, reports, and recommendations. These series specifically document the committee's relationship with the armed services and its efforts to integrate the services.

The Fahy Committee Documents series consists mostly of transcripts of the committee meetings and their index. There are also folders of basic working documents. These documents were used by the committee in developing recommendations for integration of the armed services

The Miscellaneous series includes a large body of related information that does not fall within a specific category. It includes a history of blacks and the military, as well as a report of the National Defense Conference on Negro Affairs; a copy of the Nobel Report and a related bibliography; a resolution from Congressman Jacob Javits; various speeches, reports, and press releases; and exhibits of hearings from the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training.

The Selective Service series consists of one folder. It includes a memo about the selective service and racial quotas, and an April 1949 report on Negroes in the Army.

The Newspaper Clippings series is divided into folders of clippings filed under the military service or category to which they pertain. Categories of clippings include the Negro Press, the Fahy Committee and the General Press.

The Security Classified Records series consists of formerly security classified correspondence and reports that were segregated by the committee from the rest of the committee records. All documents in the series have now been declassified. They include studies, findings, estimates of unit strength, a copy of the Gillem report and McCloy Committee documents.

Other files and collections at the Truman Library contain further information on the desegregation of the armed forces. These include Official File 93-B; Official File 1285-0; President's Personal File 2685; President's Secretary's Files; the Philleo Nash Files; and the papers of George M. Elsey, Clark M. Clifford, Philleo Nash, and Charles Fahy.

Container Nos.		Series
1		INVENTORY OF THE FAHY COMMITTEE FILES
		Inventory of the folder titles in the collection produced by Fahy Committee staff. Not an accurate guide to the collection. An accurate shelf list for the collection is located in this inventory. Consists of one folder.
1		FAHY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF
		Correspondence, notes, reports, press releases, telegrams, and memos of the Fahy Committee members and staff. Arranged alphabetically by last name, except for the last folder in the series, which deals with the military liaison with the committee and not a specific individual member.
1-2		FAHY COMMITTEE MEETINGS
		Notes, memoranda, statements, telegrams, agendas, transcripts, reports, correspondence related to the meetings of the Fahy Committee. Arranged chronologically.
2-3		REPORTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
		Interim reports, progress reports, and drafts with memos and letters for the President. Arranged chronologically.
3-4		FINAL REPORT
		Press releases, clippings, drafts, corrections, printers copy, and copy of the final Fahy Committee report, Freedom to Serve. Arranged alphabetically.
4-5		GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
		Letters, memos, articles, and notes arranged in alphabetical order.
5-6		AIR FORCE
		Reports, memos, press releases, clippings, fact sheets, charts, statistics, recommendations, drafts and correspondence regarding the Air Force and desegregation. Arranged alphabetically.
6		ARMED SERVICES
		Letters of commendation, initial recommendations, estimates of manpower, charts, memos, reports, drafts, and letters to the service secretaries, with their replies. Arranged alphabetically.
6-8		ARMY
		Correspondence, memos, tables, statements, lists, pamphlets, statistics, press releases, publications, charts, and reports. Includes a copy of the Gillem Report. Arranged alphabetically.
8-9		ARMY POLICY
		Letters, recommendations, memos, tables, newspaper clippings, press releases, and outlines of Army policy on integration. Arranged alphabetically.
9		CIVILIAN COMPONENTS
		Press releases, charts, clippings, and memoranda relating to the National Guard. Consists of one folder.
9		COAST GUARD
		Charts, memos, applications and Federal Register reprints. Arranged alphabetically.
9-12		FAHY COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS
		Agendas, memos, press releases, index of transcripts of hearings, charts, outlines, letters, recommendations, reports, drafts, messages, lists and transcripts of meetings. Arranged alphabetically and thereunder chronologically.
12		MISCELLANEOUS
		Bibliography of information on blacks and the military, report of the National Defense Conference on Negro Affairs, the Noble Report, various speeches, resolutions, reports, press releases, memos, clippings, lists, and public hearings. Arranged alphabetically.
13		NAVY
		Press releases, policy statements, programs, reports, regulations, charts, letters, press releases, statistics, memos, clippings and general information. Arranged alphabetically.
13		SELECTIVE SERVICE
		Memos and general information. Consists of one folder.
13-14		NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
		Newspaper clippings related to the committee and the integration. Arranged alphabetically.
14		SECURITY CLASSIFIED RECORDS
		Formerly classified reports arranged alphabetically. Includes Gillem report information. Arranged alphabetically.

Box 1

INVENTORY OF THE FAHY COMMITTEE FILES

• Inventory List of the Fahy Committee

FAHY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF

• Browning, Charles P. [Consultant]
• Dillard, Beatrice W. [Secretary to Exec. Sec.]
• Donahue, A. J. [Member]
• Durham, C. J. S. [Member of Staff]
• Evans, Jos. H. B. [Associate Executive Secretary]
• Fahy, Charles [Chairman]--March-December, 1949
  [1 of 2]
  [2 of 2]
• Granger, Lester B. [Member]
• Kenworthy, E. W. [Executive Secretary]
• Luckman, Charles [Member]
• Palmer, Dwight R. G. [Member]
• Sengstacke, John H. [Member]
• Stevenson, William E. [Member]
• Military Liaison with Committee

FAHY COMMITTEE MEETINGS

• 2 January 12, 1949--Meeting with President
• March 17-18, 1949
• March 28, 1949
• [April 26, 1949]--Meeting with Reid and Lanham
• April 25-26, 1949
• May 9, 1949--Fort Bragg
• May 9, 1949--Fort Knox
• [c. May 20, 1949]--Meeting with Reid
• June 7, 1949--Meeting with President
• [c. June 24, 1949]--Meeting with Gray and Bradley
• June 27, 1949
• [c. July 7, 1949]--Leyte Meeting
• July 11, 1949
• October 5, 1949--New York Meeting
• December 10, 1949
• April 17, 1950
• May 22, 1950--[Final Meeting with President]

REPORTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE

• June 7, 1949--Progress Report
• July 27, 1949--Interim Report
• July 27, 1949--Interim Report (Draft)
• September 26, 1949--Memorandum for the President
• October 11, 1949--Further Interim Report
• October 11, 1949--Further Interim Report (Draft)

• [c. October 12, 1949]--Further Interim Report Correspondence
• December 14, 1949--Memorandum for the President
• January 16, 1950--Memorandum for the President
• [c. July 25, 1949-January 16, 1950]--Letters and Memoranda for the President

FINAL REPORT

• Corrections on Final Report
• Correspondence on Distribution
• Distribution
• Drafts 1-2
• Drafts 3-4

• Draft 5
• Fahy Committee Suggestions on Final Report
• Final Printed Copy
• Letters on Final Report
• Press Reaction
• Press Release
• Printer's Copy
• Printing

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE

• A
• B
• Barton, Lt. Col. Claude D.
• Batt, William L., Jr.
• Bendetsen, Karl R.
• Bonis, A. J.
• Bradley, Gen. Omar [Collier's article]
• Brooks, Maj. Gen. Edward H.
• C
• Celler, Rep. Emanuel
• Collins, General J. Lawton
• Collins, General J. Lawton
• Committee on Segregation in the Nations Capital
• D
• E
• Evans, James C.
• F

• Fechteler, Admiral W.M.
• G
• Gillem, General Alvan C.
• Gray, Gordon--Sec. of Army
• H
• Hallem, Charles
• Hastie, William H.
• I
• J
• Johnson, Colonel Campbell C.
• Johnson, Dr. Charles S.
• Johnson, Louis A.--[Sec. of Defense]
• K
• Kimball, Dan A.
• L
• M
• McFayden, Col. B. M.
• McGrath, Earl J.
• N
• O [empty]
• P
• Pace, Frank Jr.
• Q [empty]
• R
• Reid, Thomas R.
• Robeson, Paul
• Royall, Kenneth-- [Sec. of the Army]
• S
• Thompson, Worthington
• V
• W
• Witsell, General Edward F.--[ Adjutant General]
• X, Y, Z
• Zuckert, Eugene

AIR FORCE

• Air Force Policy
• Evans Memo re Lackland
• Installations Visit--Correspondence
• Press Releases
• Redistribution of Negro Personnel
• Report on Visit to Air Force Installations

• Statistics on Negro Strength
• Wright-Patterson Air Force Base [MATS]

ARMED SERVICES

• Initial Recommendations (Final)
• Letters of Commendation
• Negro Strength
• [Policy] Regarding Race Entries on Enlistment Contracts and Shipping
• Quarterly Report--Religion and Welfare
• 1st Replies of Service Secretaries--FC VII
• 2nd Replies of Army and Navy--FC IX
• 2nd Reply to Johnson-Committee Analysis (Drafts)

ARMY

• AGCT Scores-Distribution Enlistments and Reenlistments
• Camp Stoneman, California
• Career Field Charts
• Distribution of AGCT Scores, World War II
• Enlistment Qualifications
• Enlistments for Fiscal 1949
• Experimental Units--Royall Plan
• Fort Belvoir, [Virginia]

• Fort Benning, Georgia
• Fort Dix, [New Jersey]
• Fort Knox, [ Kentucky] May 9, 1949
• Fort Lewis, Washington
• Fort Meade, [ Maryland] April 16, 1949
• Fort Ord, California
• Fort Riley, Kansas
• Fort Sam Houston, Texas
• General Printed Material
  [1 of 2]
  [2 of 2]
• Gillem Board Hearings
• Gillem Board Report
• Kitzsingen School, [Germany]
• Madigan General Hospital, Fort Lewis, Washington
• Negro Platoons in White Companies
• Officer Personnel
• Presidio of San Francisco
• Press Releases--New Policy

• Recreational Facilities
• Recruitment
• R.O.T.C. [Reserve Officers Training Corps]
• Schools
• T/D and T/O & E Negro Units [Table of Organization and Equipment]
• Third Army: Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort McPherson
• Third Army Headquarters (Atlanta)
• Utilization of Negroes
• West Point

ARMY POLICY

• Critical MOS-SR 600-629-1 [list of critical Military Occupational Specialties]
• First Reply to Johnson
• Second Reply to Johnson
• Third Reply to Johnson--Outline Plan--Committee Evaluation of (Drafts)
• GCT Quota
• Instructions to Generals
• Letter to Secretary Gray--July 25, 1949 (Drafts)
• Letter to Secretary Gray--November 7, 1949
• Letter to Secretary Johnson--July 25, 1949 (Final)
• Negro Enlistment
• New Policy Correspondence

• New Policy (Fourth Reply)
• Outline Plan (Submitted to Committee and Committee Evaluation)
• Recommendations for Army Action (Final)
• Revised 124 (Correspondence)
• Revised 124 Releases--January 16, 1950
• Revised Recommendation for Army Action (Final)
• Summary of Committee Recommendations for Press
• Utilization of Negro Manpower in the Army--SR 600-629-1

CIVILIAN COMPONENTS

• National Guard

COAST GUARD

• General
• Visit to New London [Connecticut]

FAHY COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS

• Basic Documents
  [1 of 2]
  [2 of 2]
• Chronological Files
  [1 of 4, March 4, 1949-May 31, 1949]

[2 of 4, June 1, 1949-August 27, 1949]
[3 of 4, September 1, 1949-January 31, 1950]
[4 of 4, February 1, 1950-July 28, 1950]
• Transcripts--Corrections by Committee
• Transcripts--Correspondence
• Transcripts--Index
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes I-III
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes IV-V

• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes VI-VII
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes VIII-IX
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes X-XI
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes XII-XIV
• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes XV- XVI

• Transcripts of Committee Meetings--Volumes XVII-XIX

MISCELLANEOUS

• Appearances of Witnesses Before the Fahy Committee
• Bibliography--Negroes in the Armed Services from Earliest Time to the Present
• Colonel West A. Hamilton (Speech)
• Committee Against Jim Crow [in Military Service and Training] Hearing--Exhibits I and II
  [1 of 2, testimony of witnesses]
  [2 of 2, newspaper clippings]
• Commission of Inquiry Into the Effect of Discrimination and Segregation on the Morale and Development of Negro Servicemen, January 8, 1949
• Fahy Memoranda to Staff
• Pvt. Willie C. Mullen
• Memoranda for the Fahy Committee
• National Defense Conference of Negro Affairs
• Noble Report--1948
• Report on National Defense Conference on Negro Affairs--April 26, 1948
• Rep. Jacob K. Javits (Resolution)

NAVY

• Annapolis [Regulations Governing the Admission of Candidates into the United States Naval Academy]
• General Service [Rates and Ratings chart]
• Great Lakes--August 16, 1949
• Marine Corps
• N.R.O.T.C. [Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps]
• Negro Officers
• Negro Strength Figures
• Policy
• Press Releases
• Progress in Navy--[memo by] Jos. H. B. Evans
• Quonset and New Point, [Rhode Island] and New London, [Connecticut]
• Reenlistment of Negroes
• Schools
• Second Reply to Johnson, May 11, 1949
• Stewards Branch
• USS Mason--General

SELECTIVE SERVICE

• Selective Service--General

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS

• Air Force
• Armed Services
• Army
  [1 of 2, 1944-September 1949]
  [2 of 2, October 1949-April 1950]
• Department of Defense-Louisville Courier-Journal [and miscellaneous clippings]
• Fahy Committee
• General Press
• National Guard
• Navy

• Negro Press

SECURITY CLASSIFIED RECORDS

• Adjutant General (Witsell) Report CSGPA-45
• Armed Services--Experimental Units
• Foreign Assignment of Negro Personnel
• General John C.H. Lee's Call for Volunteers
• Gillem Board [memo transmitting synopses of testimony]
• McCloy Committee
• MOS--Strength Analysis
• MOS--With No or Token Negro Representation
• Personnel Policy Board
• Report Material--Navy, World War I Policy--General Board Report--Serial 201
• Report on Gillem Board [Policy and Implementation]
  [1 of 2]
  [2 of 2]
• Tompkins Report [memo on report, 1945]

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