WELCOME AND REGISTRATION

On July 26, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) will commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, the desegregation of the Federal Workforce and Armed Forces in a ceremony at the Pentagon Center Courtyard. This commemoration will recognize the historical significance of President Harry S. Truman’s July 26, 1948, decision to end discrimination in the Federal workplace and abolish segregation in the military.

These landmark decisions are remembered for impacting our civilian workforce who support service members protecting our nation and representing our core values worldwide. Our Department remains a dynamic organization committed to today’s diverse and mission-ready Total Force, which constantly evolves to overcome new threats and challenges.

By commemorating the historic 75th Anniversary of the signing of Executive Orders 9980 and 9981, we renew our commitment to uniting our military forces and reaffirming our promise to maintain equality and pursue equitable treatment for all who serve.

►  REGISTER TO ATTEND

Livestream

www.dvidshub.net/webcast/32383

PROGRAM

►  Click here to see the Event Program

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9980
    

 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981

Click image to download the scanned document

WOMEN'S ARMED SERVICE INTEGRATION ACT

Click image to download the scanned document
 

EVENT SPEAKERS

RESOURCES (Posters, Service Inputs, Links and Other Events) 

Video

Commemorative Video created by DEOMI

Posters

SERVICE INPUTS

USMC

NAVY

►  About the Women in Navy (WIN) Initiative
►  Women in the Navy (E-book)
►  NAVADMIN 75th Anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act
►  Women's Armed Services Integration Act
►  Progressing toward Equity and Inclusion:  The 75th Anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, by Dr. Regina T. Akers 
►  Finding a Permanent Place: Demobilization, Suburbia, Motherhood, and Women in the Navy
►  Flygirls, Women Mechs, and Lady Pilots: The Multi-Generational, Multi-Service Effort to End Combat Exclusion in Aviation, an essay by Dr. Heather Haley
►  Women in the Navy, a digital exhibit from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy
►  Women in the U.S. Navy, a compilation of links to materials relating to women serving in the U.S. Navy

AIR FORCE
 

►  Air University Freedom to Serve:  Legacy of Executive Order 9981

ARMY
 

►  U.S. Army 75th Anniversary Commemoration
►  This Day in Army History: Executive Order 9981 Desegregation of U.S. Armed Forces - 26 July 1948
►  Women in the Army 
►  Touring the U.S. Army Women's Museum

COAST GUARD
 

►  African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard
►  A History of Women in the Coast Guard

OTHER LINKS

► Visit the Freedom to Serve website for resources on EO9981  

PHOTOS AND BOOKS

Event Photos

►  OSDPA Flickr
►  DVIDS Imagery

Historic Photos

Click any image to download a full-sized version of the photo or the source document featuring the photo.

[Secretary of Defense James Forrestal (center) congratulates (l to r) Colonel Geraldine May, Colonel Mary A. Hallaren, Captain Joy Bright Hancock, and Major Julia E. Hamblet, after the passage of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.] / U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph. - digital file from color film copy slide | Library of Congress (loc.gov)	Morris MacGregor, The Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1981)
Alan L. Gropman, The Air Force Integrates, 1945-1964 (Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1978)	Mattie E. Treadwell, The Women's Army Corps, in U.S. Army in World War II (Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1954)
Bettie J. Morden, The Women's Army Corps, 1945-1978 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1990)	Regina T. Akers, The Navy's First Enlisted Women: Patriotic Pioneers (Washington, D.C.: Naval History and Heritage Command, 2019)
Other Selections: John Darrell Sherwood, Black Sailor, White Navy: Racial Unrest in the Fleet During the Vietnam Era (New York: New York University Press, 2006). Susan H. Godson, Serving Proudly: A History of Women in the U.S. Navy (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2001). Mary T. Sarnecky, A History of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).