Once the Selective Service Act went into effect, discrimination
had the reverse effect from what it had produced before, Instead
of keeping Negroes out of the Army, some Selective Service Boards
discriminated against them in terms of the exemptions which were
permitted. Throughout the war, the Navy only accepted Negroes in
menial jobs, and the Marine Corps barred them altogether.
Training the Negro troops presented another problem. No community
welcomed an influx of hundreds or thousands of young Negro men.
The South, especially, was outraged when large
numbers of "cocky" Negroes from the North descended upon some
sleepy, peaceful town. Segregation and discrimination within the
military itself caused further irritations and triggered violence
at more than one camp. The 92nd, an all-Negro outfit, was
trained at seven separate locations, and it was the only American
unit never to come together before reaching the front. The 93rd,
another all-Negro unit, was never consolidated. When it reached
France, it served with various units of the French Army. It had
been sent overseas hastily, and its troops received most of their
training in Europe.
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