advantages of an
Army career attract so large a number of Negroes that a serious racial
imbalance would result, he was willing to accept a substantive
revision of the Gillem Board policy.

[Footnote 14-114: Intervs, Nichols with Gray and Fahy,
and author with Collins.]

Gray was perhaps more cautious than Collins. Confessing later that he
had never considered the question of equal opportunity until Fahy
brought it to his attention, Gray began with a limited view of the
executive order--the Army must eliminate racial discrimination, (p. 370)
not promote racial integration. In their meeting on 27 December Fahy
was able to convince Gray that the former was impossible without the
latter. According to Kenworthy, Gray demonstrated an "open and
unbiased" view of the problem throughout all discussions.[14-115]

[Footnote 14-115: Ltr, Kenworthy to Gray, 20 Jul 50,
FC file; Intervs, Nichols with Gray, Davenport, and
Fahy.]

[Illustration: SECRETARY OF THE ARMY GRAY.]

The trouble was, as Roy Davenport later noted, Gordon Gray was a
lawyer, not a personnel expert, and he failed to grasp the full
implications of the Army staff's recommendations.[14-116] Davenport
was speaking from firsthand knowledge because Gray, after belatedly
learning of his experience and influence with the committee, sent for
him. Politely but explicitly Davenport told Gray that the staff
officers who were advising him and writing the memos and directives to
which he was signing his name had deceived him. Gray was at first
annoyed and incredulous; after Davenport finally convinced him, he was
angry. Kenworthy, years later, wrote that the Gray-Davenport
discussion was decisive in changing Gray's mind on the assignment
issue and was of great help to the Fahy Committee.[14-117]

[Footnote 14-116: Interv, author with Davenport, 31
Oct 71.]

[Footnote 14-117: Memo, Kenworthy for Chief of
Military History, 13 Oct 76, CMH.]

Fahy reduced the whole problem to the case of one qualified black
soldier denied a job because of color and pictured the loss to the
Army and the country, eloquently pleading with Gray and Collins at the
27 December meeting to try the committee's way. "I can't say you won't
have problems," Fahy concluded, "but try it." Gray resisted at first
because "this would me