percentage of Negroes,
both officers and men, sent overseas approximated their percentage in
the continental United States, and with rare and "understandable"
exceptions--it cited South Africa--overseas assignments in the armed
forces were made routinely without regard for race.[21-80] The
committee also quickly dismissed the problem of discrimination on
overseas bases, which it considered "minimal," and as in the United
States chiefly the result of poor communication between commanders and
men. The group concentrated instead on discrimination off base,
especially in Germany. Back from a firsthand look in April 1964,
Benjamin Muse reported that local American commanders seemed unwilling
to take the matter seriously, but he considered it delicate and
complex, principally because prejudice had been most often introduced
by American servicemen. He suggested that off-limits sanctions should
also be imposed in Germany but "only after consultation and on a (p. 553)
basis of mutual understanding with German municipal authorities."[21-81]

[Footnote 21-80: The President's Committee on Equal
Opportunity in the Armed Forces, "Final Report:
Military Personnel Stationed Overseas and
Membership and Participation in the National Guard,
November 1964" (hereafter cited as "Final Report"),
copy in CMH.]

[Footnote 21-81: Ltr, Muse to Gesell, 23 Apr 64,
Gesell Collection, J. F. Kennedy Library.]

The committee wanted the recommendations on off-base discrimination
contained in its initial report also applied overseas. Ignoring the
oft made distinction about the guest status of overseas service, it
wanted the Department of State enlisted in a campaign against
discrimination in public accommodations, including the use of
off-limits sanctions when necessary. The committee also called for a
continuing review to insure equal opportunity in assignments to
attache and mission positions.

The committee devoted the largest portion of its final report to the
National Guard, "the only branch of the Armed Forces," it told
President Johnson, "which has not been fully integrated."[21-82]
Chairman Gesell later reported that when the segregated state guards
were pressured they "resisted like hell."[21-83] This resistance had a
political dimension, but when Attorney General Kennedy chided that
"you