8. The Army was segregated, the Navy slightly less so
During World War I, Black sailors served in Navy ships, usually as firemen or coalers, or as mess attendants serving officers in the wardrooms. After World War I ended enlistments for Black Americans in the Naval service were discontinued. However, Black sailors already in the service were allowed to remain, received promotions, and many reached the rank of non-commissioned officers. Most, if not all, served in shore assignments and were allowed to remain in the service until retirement, with the same pay and promotion opportunities as White sailors serving in the same specialties. In 1932 Black Americans were again allowed to serve aboard ships, as mess stewards and attendants only. As on any ship, they were assigned collateral duties for specific situations, such as battle stations. By the end of the 1930s, approximately four thousand Black sailors served in the US Navy.
Army units were entirely segregated both during the First World War and in the interwar years. Black soldiers messed separately, were assigned separate barracks, and though some trained in integrated classrooms, were mostly isolated from their White counterparts. Black officers served only in Black regiments. The number of enlisted Black soldiers dropped steadily through the 1920s. During World War I, draft boards, particularly in the Deep South, drafted a disproportionate number of Blacks into the segregated regiments. Following the war, enlistment of Black soldiers was discouraged. The Army’s official view regarding Black soldiers was reflected in a 1925 report written by a clearly racist White officer, Major Brehon Somervell. Somervell wrote of American Blacks in The Use of Negro Manpower in War, “Compared to the White man he is admittedly of inferior mentality. He is inherently weak in character”.