ued a second major
policy statement. This one ostensibly dealt with the availability of
integrated community facilities for servicemen, but was in fact far
wider in scope, and brought the department nearer the uncharted (p. 513)
shoals of community race relations. A testament to the extraordinary
political sensitivity of the subject was the long time the document
spent in the drafting stage. Its wording incorporated the suggestions
of representatives of the three service secretaries and was carefully
reviewed by the President's civil rights advisers, who wanted the
draft shown to the President "because of his particular interest in
Civil Rights matters."[20-50] With their request in mind, and because
of what he considered "the tense situation now existent in the South,"
Runge urged the secretary to send the President the memorandum. Before
doing so McNamara asked his general counsel, Cyrus R. Vance, to
discuss the draft with the under secretaries of the services and
Assistant Attorney General Nicholas B. Katzenbach and Burke Marshall.
At the suggestion of the justice officials, the draft was slightly
revised; then it was sent once again to the services for review.
Finally on 19 June 1961, and only after Yarmolinsky had rejected
certain minor alterations suggested by the services, was the
memorandum issued under Gilpatric's signature and its provisions
passed down to the local commanders by the service secretaries.[20-51]

[Footnote 20-50: Memo, ASD (M) for SecDef, 22 May 61,
sub: Availability of Facilities to Military
Personnel, ASD (M) 291.2.]

[Footnote 20-51: Memo, Dep SecDef for Service Secys,
19 Jun 61, sub: Availability of Facilities to
Military Personnel, SD 291.2. For various comments
on the draft memo, see the following Memos: Vance
and Runge for SecDef, 5 Jun 61; ASD (M) for Dep
SecDef, 16 Jun 51, sub: Availability of Facilities
to Military Personnel; Dep SecDef for Service
Secys, 5 Jun 61, same sub; SecAF for Dep SecDef, 13
Jun 61, same sub. All in ASD (M) 291.2 (22 May
61).]

The policy that emerged from all this careful labor committed the
services to very little change. In the first place the title, The
Availability of Facilities to Military Personnel, was v