t the Army, not even in the Far East and in the
United States, where far more black soldiers were stationed than in
Europe.[8-31] The Army lost yet another chance to fulfill the promise of
its postwar policy.

[Footnote 8-30: Geis Monograph, Charts 3 and 4 and p.
139.]

[Footnote 8-31: Not comparable was the brief literacy
program reinstituted in the 25th Regimental Combat
Team at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1947.]

In later years Kitzingen assumed the task of training black officers,
a natural progression considering the attitude of General Huebner and
Marcus Ray. The general and the command adviser were convinced that
the status of black soldiers depended at least in part on the caliber
of black officers commanding them. Huebner deftly made this point in
October 1947 soon after Kitzingen opened when he explained to General
Paul that he wanted more "stable, efficient, and interested Negro
officers and senior non-commissioned officers" who, he believed, would
set an example for the trainees.[8-32] Others shared Huebner's views.
The black publishers touring Europe some months later observed that
wherever black officers were assigned there was "a noticeable
improvement in the morale, discipline and general efficiency of the
units involved."[8-33]

[Footnote 8-32: Ltr, Huebner to D/P&A, 1 Oct 47,
CSGPA 291.2.]

[Footnote 8-33: Memo, DCofS for D/P&A, 14 May 48,
sub: Report of Visit by Negro Publishers and
Editors to the European Theater, CSUSA 291.2
Negroes (14 May 48).]

The European Command had requisitioned only five black officers during
the last eight months, General Paul noted; this might have caused its
shortage of black officers. Still, Paul knew the problem went deeper,
and he admitted that many black officers now on duty were relatively
undesirable and many desirable ones were being declared surplus. He
was searching for a solution.[8-34] The Personnel and Administration
Division could do very little about the major cause of the shortage,
for the lack of black officers was fundamentally connected with the
postwar demobilization affecting all the services. Most black officers
were unable to compete in terms of length of service, combat experience,
and other factors that counted heavily toward retention.