The distinguished service of these units was a factor in President Harry S. Truman's order to end discrimination in the Armed Forces in July 1948, with the promulgation of Executive Order 9981. This led in turn to the integration of the Air Force and the other services by the early 1950s.Alan L. Gropman, Air Force Integrates 1949–64 (1986).Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940–1965 (Washington, 1981). In his book A Rising Wind, Walter Francis White of the NAACP wrote: "World War II has immeasurably magnified the Negro's awareness of the American profession and practice of democracy...[Black veterans] will return home convinced that whatever betterment of their lot is achieved must come largely from their own efforts. They will return determined to use those efforts to the utmost".Kennedy, David Freedom from Fear, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 pp. 775–776
