My father, BG Edwin Machen (USMA,1938; 1915-1999) was at the Pentagon in the sixties. He was offered a position to supervise fair housing for Black servicemen, and he refused it, based on his belief and oath that the mission of the military was to protect its citizens, not to further social justice. As a consequence he was passed over for future promotion.
At that time I worked for the Defense Communications Agency. One officer I served was Lieutenant Commander Samuel Gravely, the first Black man to achieve that rank. (He went on to Admiral.) One afternoon I gave him a ride to his home, in a lower middle class Black neighborhood. It was like the one our maid lived in years before, outside West Point. I was shocked, but Gravely, always a gentleman, brushed off my concern. My father's behavior confused me.
Now I understand: my father had integrity. He wouldn't do what he had not been commissioned to do. I hope our military has that integrity.
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Sherry Machen
Green Valley
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