There is no excuse for this at all. I was in the military in 1968, when racial tension in society was very high, and as a Southerner, I was amazed at how progressive Naval attitudes were in this area. Color blindness was official policy and strictly enforced all the way down the line, and although there were still very few blacks in positions of authority (a situation which has long since been corrected), those that were received neither favoritism nor prejudice. It was an attitude which was quickly adopted by the crew. My first leading NCO, First Division Bosun's Mate Chief Douglas, looked and acted like Idi Amin on steroids, but he was a superb seaman and leader with a combat record to match and respected as such by both superiors and subordinates.

I can honestly say that in the Vietnam-era Navy, at least in the units in which I served, racial discrimnination simply was not an issue.