VD Problems ..t Up ore Enlisted Hon 
in IirOJSA 
Report 122 I.I-2 - 
Pro par od for 
Chief, Preventive Medicine Branch, Modi eel Section, Tlondqunrtors, MTOTJSA 
by 
Research Branch, Ir.forr 11ion and Udnc': tion Soctio , Pondquartors, MTCUSA'-- 
25 September 1945 tapib coittbnts 
Page 
INTRODUCTION 2 
I, Ma in Pi adi ngs , 3 
II. Detailed Findings.... 4 
1. Frequency of Sexual Intercourse, 4 
2. Soxurl Fxposuro and VD 5 
3. Preventive Practices of the Mon 7 
4. The Probable Cause of Higher YD to lor 1000... . . 
Bnp osuroD An eng Negro os 9 
5. Other Differences Between ,JJhites and Negroes 12 
6. "Trays in rr,.iav T!r;:itec ',-rd A*. Alike 14 
III. Conclusion 15 INTRODUCTION 
1* This report for Negro enlisted men is a supplement to the report, 
VP Problems of White Enlisted Len in MTCUSA (Report 122 M—1)« The only 
data reported in detail in this supplement are those where Negro and white 
troops are strikingly■■ different; • 'Therefore ‘the 'report for white EM contains 
many topics not.discussed here because the Negro data do net change the 
story. ... 
; 2i -This report is based *on a survey of 863 Negro Hi. It was made at 
the same time that the survey of white troops was made under exactly7 the 
same conditions -as those outlined in the main report, with the exception 
that all assistants to the class leader were Negro EM. In administering 
the questionnaire all introductory speeches were made by trained white Hi 
from the staff of the Research Branch, but aid to men on low literacy levels 
•r others-who might have questions was supplied individually by Negro Ell 
trained for that purpose prior to the work in any Negro outfit,, 
3. The Negro data are treated separately because it soon becomes 
apparent that the Negro soldier is up against a different situation and 
he reacts to it differently than the white soldier. His sexual contact 
rates and VD (venereal disease) rates ara so different that ary average 
of the two is quite meaningless. em 
1* Frequency of Sexual Intercourse 
• ,*96 per cent of the Negroes say they have had intercourse in Italy, 
(Their average overseas tour is about IS months,) 
••.their average frequency of intercourse is 2 to 3 times per month. 
• •.when age, education, or marital status is held constant, it is, still 
true that Negroes are more likely to have had intercourse in Italy 
than whites, and to have had it more frequently , 
.2, Sexual Exposure and VD 
•••54 per cent of the Negroes say they have had VD sometime in their life, 
with 21 per cent reporting one or more infections since coming overseas 
(not necessarily Italy). (White figures; 1$% and respectively). 
• ••16 per cent of the men who have been infected overseas have .been in- 
fected more than once while overseas (v/hites, 1C^). 
•o.approximately' 7 cases of VD arise from each 1000 sexual contacts made 
by Negroes in this Theater (whites, 4 per 1000). 
3* Preventive Practices of the Men 
...although Negroes constitute only about 15 per cent of Theater strength, 
they contributed 36 per cent of the VD in the Theater during the months 
just preceding the study (May and June 1945)• 
...there is no indication that this is due to inferior prophylactic prac- 
tices, for 65 per ct.nt of Negroes (as compared to 43 per cent for 
whites) say they alvay3 use both condom and Pro, 
...Negroes arc: loss likely to "shack up" all night. 
...Negroes are much more likely to say they' must carry a rubber or Pro- 
Kit when on pass. 
.,.Negroes are less likely to say they drink before having intercourse. 
...Negroes indicate that they are less tolerant of a man who gets.VD. 
4. The Probable Cause of Higher VD Rates per 10C0 Exposures Among Negroes 
...as the Negroes point out in numerous freely' written comments, the heart 
of the problem seems to be that the women to whom they have access are 
much more likely to be diseased on the average than the women that whit 
' Eli contact, 
5. Other Differences Between Whites and Nerroes 
...Negroes hear many more VD talks and see many’ more VD movies than whiter 
...although they get to town on pass as frequently as whites, Negroes get 
fev;er overnight passes, 
,..when on pass, they are more likely to say they look for a woman and 
less likely to say they look for liquor than whites, 
...they are more likely to think penicillin is a sure cure for VD than 
whites, but both groups lack information on this point, 
NOTE: The Conclusion to this report wall be found on Page 36. II* DETAILED FINDINGS 
IV , . 
1. Frequency of Sexual Intercourse. 
Practically all, 96 per cent, of the Negroes in this cross-sectional study 
peport that they have had intercourse in Italy, whereas 73 per cent, pf white EM 
report intercourse in Italy . These facts are of major importance in understand- 
ing the higher VD rates that almost always characterize the Negro EM.. When whites 
and Negroes are compared age by age, educational level by educational, level, or 
marital status b} marital status* it is found that the Negroes still are more 
likely to have had intercourse, and that they have intercourse more frequently 
than whites. It should be noted, too, that Negroes have been overseas an average 
of slightly under 16 months .as compared to 21 months for,whites. At the end of 
16 months, it can be safely assumed that there would have been somewhat under 
. 73 per cent of the whites saying that they had had intercourse in Italy, which 
would .take the disparity between whites and Negroes even greater for' ary7 equiva- 
lent time period. ‘ 
The Negroes who have had intercourse in Italy7 say they have had relations 
an average of 2 to 3 times per month, which is a higher rate of intercourse than 
that reported by whites (2.5 tines per month for Negroes; 1.75 times- per month 
for whites). Cne Negro in five says that he has relations at least once a week, 
as shown in Table 1; 
Table 1 
: ■ • Ke 
Per cent saying*,* 
At least once a week 
Three or four times a month 
Once or twice a month 
Less than once a month 
gro 
100% 
~ - . . 
21 
EM White IM 
100^’" 
21. 
• 
10 
JL. 
43 
34 
_> .... 
■21 
11 
Not since Irve been in Italy 
u 
27 
•- ; 
This pattern’ of more frequent intercourse among Negroes can be expected to 
persist, for 91 per cent say they "expect" to have intercourse, or they "might" 
have intercourse in the future vtiile in Italy.  
2, Sexual Exposure and VD 
a« Extent of VJj» Fifty-four per cent of the Negro soldiers have had VD some 
time in their lives (whites - 15/0y and. 21 per cent of the Negroes have had VD 
while overseas (whites - ftjo): 
Men reporting one or more infections,*. 
No. of Gases 
Per cent 
Total overseas infected men 
£182) 
(21.1) 
Overseas only 
£5 
9*8 
Overseas & in garrison* both 
35 
4.1 
Overseas & in civilian life 
41 
4.8 
Overseas, garrison & civilian life 
21 
2.4 
Total infected men prior to overseas 
(286) 
(33.2) 
0 
Garrison only 
66 
7.* 
Garrison & civilian life both, but not overseas 48 
5*6 
Civilian life only 
172 
20.0 
Men not infected or No answerer** 
m 
45.7 
Total-- 
863 
■ 100.0$ 
•*Garrison is defined as prior to overseas 
but 
while in the Army 
• 
•***About 5 per cent of the men failed to answer 
t he que st ion „ It 
cannot be as - 
sumed that all of these men have had VD, 
and 
are merely avoiding the questic 
because many of them show low levels of 
literacy. Since they 1 
were all in-. 
eluded in the table with the non-infected men, the 54 per cent 
who have bee* 
infected is conservative. 
Sixteen per cent of these Negro soldiers wTho report an infection while ove? 
seas say they have been infected more than once while overseas, with an average 
of 1,3 infections per man in the group that has been infected while overseas. 
When the total number of infections they report is converted into 1X0men per ann: 
a rate of 213 is obtained, which compares very closely with the Theater average 
rate of 219,- as computed from medical reports, 
The survey rate of 213 cases of VD per 1030 men per annum was obtained by reduc- 
ing the total number of infections reported while overseas from a 16-month basi- 
(which is the median number of months served overseas these men) to a 12-mo n 
basis, and converting to a rate per 1000 men. The Theater rate of 219-is a sim] 
arithmetic average of the rates reported for the period January7 1943 through Jui 
1945, which covers the period of overseas service for almost all of the men in 
the study, with a correction of 9»3 per cent applied to compensate for the fact 
that men who are diagnosed as having two or more types of VD at the same’ time a 
counted as two or more^men in the appropriate tables of types of VD., This cor- 
■ rective factor for Negro Ki was supplied by the Preventive Medicine Branch on t 
basis of a statistical study made by them, !' attempt was made in the survey a* 
differentiate between types of VD, nor were the men asked if they had more than 
one type of VD at the time of diagnosis. The fact that the survey rate of 513 bar 1000 per ahnun almost coincides 
with the Theater rates is an indication that this sample of Negro ELI is repre- 
sentative of the men in the Theater, and that the men feel free to report inti- 
mate matters under the anonymous conditions of this questionnaire. This is a 
very important miter, for the Negro soldier is frequently reminded of his high 
VD rate in talks or lectures on VD, and could conceivably be very defensive and 
reluctant to tell the truth. This vould be especially true if the circumstances 
under which he was being questioned suggested to him that there might be some 
sort of retribution should the facts* about his individual behavior become known. 
b. Relation of exposure to VD, Among Negro £11, there are- about 7 cases of 
VD per 1000 sexual contacts, which is considerably higher than the 4 per 1000 
for white Eli, 
as was true of white Sk also, those me;, who have most frequent contact over- 
. seas have loTrer VD infection rates per 1000 contacts. Because they .expose them- 
selves much more frequently, however, the mm, both ’whites and Negroes, who have 
most sexual contact have accumulated the largest proportion of VD during their 
entire overseas tour of duty. 
The general relationships between frequency of exposure and VD are the same 
for whites and Negroes. The important difference is in the higher proportion of 
Negroes who make sexual contacts and in the higher VD rate that results from eac 
1090 exposures. These need further examination. 3. Preventive Practices of the • ' 
In view of the fact that Negro ELI constituted only about 15 per cent of the 
Theater strength but contributed 36 per cent of the VD in the Theater during the 
months just preceding the stud;' (Ley .and June, 1915), it is possible that their 
preventative practices art- the answer to the problem. However, a striking fact 
of this survey is that Negro Ell indicate that they have better prophylactic hab- 
it, c • than do whites (Table 3)s 
Table 3 
Proportion v;ho• • • 
Negroes 
Whites 
Alvars use a rubber AND, 
Always take a Fro 
U3?> 
Perhaps take a Pro 
* 15 
15 
Usually don't take a Pro 
1 
7 
-Hay or may not use a rubber AND, 
Always take a Pro 
7 
9 
Perhaps take a Pro 
11 
12 
Usually don’t take a Pro 
Total 
1 
ICGa 
4 
• 100£ 
' ■ -There is a possibility that the Negro who says that he uses prophylaxis may 
still not use it as well as the white soldier> and that this accounts for all 01 
part of his excessive VD rate per 10C0 contacts. Sc far as the dsfeof the survey 
are concerned, however, such a judgement is purely speculative. The indirect 
evidence of the study would suggest that the Negro probably knows how to use th 
procedures of prophylaxis as expertly as the whites for several reasons: 
(1) The techniques are not complex 
(2) He has seen the techniques demonstrated over and over again in movies 
especially - mucn more often than whites in fact, as will be shown late 
(3) When it comes to exact Information on VD, he scored as high on a 7-ques 
tion quiz as did whites in spite of a lower average educational achieve 
Xiient, probably because he has heard the material repeated so often. 
As was true of whites also, those-men who have the most frequent intercourse 
and those who have n-.d VD are more likely to say they don’t always use the doub] 
precaution of condom and Pro, bub none of the Negro sub-groups just referred to 
are ever as likely as writes to indicate that they don’t taka the double precaution 
There are other lines of evidence pointing to the fact that Negroes have at 
least as good prophylactic habits or sexual practices as whites. Very briefly 
they are: :-h . 
#•* a, Negroes are definitely less likely7 to “shack up1* all night with *a girl 
than whites, which should work toward a lower VD rate fret* 1000 contacts. Among 
those who have intercourse in Italy7, 6? per cent of whites and 82 per cent of 
Negroes say the:; ‘‘-usually just stay a shore tine” with the girl. Therefore, the 
Negro; would generally be better able to reach a Pro Station, within 2- henrs after 
intercourse. 
b, Whereas only 12 per cent of white troops said that "Everybody7 must have 
one (rubbers or Pro Kits) before’he goes on pass”, 42 per cent of Negroes checker 
that response, any excessive VD among Negroes cannot be traced to inaccessibil- 
ity of supplies, 7 • ■" -• — 
5 *vV . 'z}& 'I , t. . *' * T* *. -jiK \ ‘ r. i* r 
c, Negro and white EM are equally7 likely to say they drink in Italy7 (about 
90$ in each group), and those who say they drink most are also more likely to sa; 
they have intercourse very frequently. However, Negroes are mueh less likely to 
say 'they have a drink just prior to having intercourse (Table 4): 
Table 4 
Question: "then you have intercourse over here, do you usually have a couple of 
drinks first?11 
among men who have 
had intercourse in 
Proportion saying,«. 
luaJLy 
Negroes 
Whites 
Yas* I usually' have a couple of drinks first 
10$ 
25% 
>ibout half the time, I have a couple of drinks first 15 
• ; ' 23 
No, I hardly ever drink before sexual intercourse 
41 
30 
No, I never drink before having sexual intercourse' 
34 
22 
Total 
100% 
100%■ 
d. Negroes are less likely to be tolerant than whites of a mhn who gets VD. 
While 30 per cent of Negroes say they would hold it against such a man whether 
or not he went on sick call right away, only 1$ per cent of whites made that re- 
ply. Thus, there is somewhat more social pressure among Negroes leveled at the 
'man who is careless, 
7 - 1 'v * / - . a s 4. TT.?. Probable Gnuso of ~Tlrhor VD lector, nor 1000 exposures Among Negroos 
Ir. spit of 'll these lin’s cf converging ovido co which should rcko 
for i lower rot e of VD per 1000 9or\c3 coutlets, t1* Negroes* rate of 7 
por 1000 ozpcsuros i. t*’ s rhor.tor is almost double ' at of tho whit os (4 per 
1000). As vn3 mentioned on page 18 of the repent r r white 3', the 
difference cams to bj -du.' chiefly to the fact th I. . o*. en to whom the 
Negro ;s : ,cVv access ore much nor j 111: '!;,- t b . a I t d, Coss eyuontly, 
when prophylaxis foils or if the non do not t V1 t precautions 
necessary, oh n th .y ore much more likely tc be i C ectoc., 
. H* ay of th degrees oro well rnn of this noM n in th blank 
space provide! at th ; id of t; qu rt loan Ir , for further "cortaients, 
criticisms, rr si'qestions t at you haven’t ’ ad c ace :o write about 
°lroady*!, th problem of i: f „*ct h *.;<— • i i . tl r. is, As 
they me their f robl m, th.) ■Te-r.rocc1 inability to in. c' tacts • with clean 
women is chiefly due to 'T activity - id to the ro. ear of ’ hto soldiers 
to th ) nativ_ girl a which lead th ; ivere dosirabl Oi../ to ''.void Negroes. 
Th iy claim f at if uii ti 3N would not arouse reel 1 or judico ~ d if TCP’s 
would tnct all soldiers alike, ts eir VD rate rcu’.d b. o hire r than 
that for white Si, if as high. Tho following comments are ty'leal of the 
range of r marks ;ritt e'i by ■*.’ Negroes: 
Tow to stop VD? Stop segregation - period." 
"T''is survey or ss . y ir does not expl in f « .re ison for high 
VD rotor "isong negro troops, f er i ire ot , r p i:\ciples aiich must 
be understood. Negro conbot troop;, are es in Italy a;id 
our fellow ’•white” soldiers rv so i f aenced th, better group 
of civil! as t t nothing is left but th . poor d sea sod Italian trash 
nd -11 men. Jill indulge in s real affairs r jgardleSS. It is not a 
matter of cur not knowing so much s it ic . *t . „ h-v no 
alternative, O.r., put us 1 tl.j wools - 1 i. crow" us to the 
civilians - a: \ the Americ a Any will r ii d ii rac ed. Tith 
. your cooperation, M ou;h, n: c'nn wipe oub v,Dr: kly, ’hits 
off ici a*l s h tr not d . It seriously so mob h tho control of N.JD, 
ar they have to keen us a r y from f s I‘ .. omen. To combat 
V.D, it h. a '.at Priced a * . you h ve f-'il . r urxnn, you 
know, a. d wo do .hum- t• inga," 
"Nov; s to th j association o' soldi .rs and lb I. women: I Tve 
found t'-t ■' '! r ; has b n • 't ,• bit of 'to-'- '-".da and .lust plain 
lies c r c era i'H color d snide ro. This es via, to increase the 
associ tio- ; 1th the 1 )sa d.airnblj typ * ■ ‘ on • a anything 
else, n’or* instanc , i i T,lor - c ;, t.» srl: t i evit ed to the 
Rost C nit :V w r told that- if lb y w re e ;ee h ol.y or other ’iso 
iscocirbi ig with colored snick, rr , t.1 ,y non Id seer b i ■'llowed to 
r turn tc th j R.)st Cent er, T is I got fro,.. V • i!i . girls who 
had bee so '’ostracized". .T • is is bot'' u if a d very detrime tel 
to the monle of th 3 Colored soldier." "The reason that so nany soldiers have corns ia contact with V.D. 
is beenusa when a folio1 meets ?. nice girl from ~ nice family ho 
likos to walk and talk with her and not always at homo. But around 
horo when a Negro soldier takes a girl out the IP's look upon her 
as a whoro. Th.y toko h r d wn to Imvo a physical oxaninntion of 
hor, which sh:- do .s not like. Then a lot cf th . better class girls 
are afraid they might have to do the same thi , so most of the 
soldiers turn to whores which brings about a hi her rate of VD." 
"The one thing I would like to suggest is th~t our white brother, who 
in turn c-lls himself an American and foug. t this war to preserve the 
term democracy or its sacred monni g, would ref:o'in from tolling 
the Italian people f at the Negro is no good. 0; many occasions the 
civilians ask us why our whito brother speaks in such belittling 
terms of us, when in turn they observe r'c ; ‘ 6 are not able to 
recall the bad they claim wo possess. Remember , they witness the 
dj'ing of our d~rk brothers also," 
”1 would like to state hero that the treatment i- the ‘Fifth Army 
Rest Centers hos been almost totally fair, T or 5 h 'S been some 
outward signs of resentment w en dances are .eld but even thnt 
shows signs of all-eviction. It could help a leb if th : ’blue- 
blooded1 Americas would stop their waggling tongues in undermining 
the negro. Their incessant ’s-'ldati neri cone pcci buoni* (the 
Negro soldier is not much good) does more towards th. upheaval in 
this division of the VD r~te anything els Tee better type 
girls ~re afraid of t'', insidious propaganda s read by our white 
soldiers. Thorforo, if a driv-• to stop outlandish slanderings war.' 
started, wo could stop the rush t the ’casino:.» because there they 
draw no line. Row about it?" 
"I must criticize my fellow soldier, the ■•’hito a.:ldi r, who goes 
around t elling th)Se Italian people about th hh- rican negro 
soldier. I think it is the lowest, tl . erst, a man can do. For 
it leaves me so, if I do want a girl or a. fri . V., I must pick on 
what they h-’ve left over or something to frt -affect, so tent lots 
me in for more venereal dis eas e and so nuiy ether headaches. Let 
us pull more tog ether a->d it will be better for ; and my race." 
"I f el that men .ould pay more att .ntion t v ir h a 1th if they wore 
permitted to visit in more or 1 jsg decent h ». n without being molest d 
by HP’s. Also, if men war permitted to rid e f-eir civilian girl 
friends to vid from p rtiec di' ces, a b tt ,r type of girl .would 
be attracted to these affairs," 
"I believe that the VD rate would be lower if t’- TT wouldn’t 
classify all of th j civilian £ iris as prostitutes thet ar e c-'ught 
with a colored soldier. Please :ote.” "If there could bo something done about the gossip against the 
negro soldier to the Italian people, then a man wouldn’t have to 
have sexual intercourse in the woods, or with anything that he may 
find. Personally, I haven't seen a (monkey) fail on any human, and 
it really hurts to hear these damned Italians ask where is it. 
With rumors like that, how can I associat e with nothing but the 
scum of Italy, and this is the reason that we ' ve such a high rate 
in VD. You figure it out.” 
"If the false rumors about the negro soldiers wer wiped out it 
would be much better for him to got along without a high rate 
of VD, These awful rumors are spread by our American white 
soldiers, which only shows ignorance on their part, for the 
negro is not to be laughed at or pitied, for ’ e is an intelligent 
man. Resulting from these rumors, th ; colored soldier has to 
resort to the 'scum' of the omen, or ta have a sexual intercourse 
which he knows even before he starts is usually a VD nest, thus 
making our VD rate slightly higher than most troops." 
In view of the* foots, (1) that the Negro soldiers entered tho 
Theater free of VD, as did the whites, (2) that th ,v indicate that 
they have* as good or batter preventive practices as tie whites, and 
(3) that they have d of in it )ly higher VD rates than the whit os, the 
Negroes' claim that the much higher rat es are th, resul t of discii lination 
seems basically correct. It should be added, hov:evor, that as long ",s 
tha Negro has more frequent sexual contacts than whites, then he would 
still have more total VD than whites as a result of the extra nun bar of 
contacts, even if his rate were the same as that of white (4 cases of 
VD per 1000 exposures rather than 7). If he had access to women who are • 
just as clean ns those contacted in this Theater by white SM, it is 
entirely possible that his better preventive practices, if continued, 
would offset the risk of the additional .exposure to which h e subjects 
himself. 
The possibility that the Negro soldier is not telling the truth about 
his present prophylactic practices can be discounted in view of two facts: 
(1) It was demonstrated previously that he ors t lling the truth 
about his frequency of sexual intercourse and th , number of times-he has 
had VD. Th.se admissions are just as damaging as admissions of inadequate 
prophylactic habits, should he fool that the survey was some sort of trap 
to catch him, personally. The frankness of the-above free comments and 
many others not used in this report also indicate little fear on the part of 
the writers about possible consequences, 
(2) The Negro knows f at he is contacting worn; - who ere very likely 
to be diseased, and the fact f at ho r eports better prophylactic practices 
than whites is to *be exp cted. 5, Other Diff erencas Botmeon ‘TV. it -.3 and Negroes 
There are certain other attitudes and practic ec asr* ciat ;d with VD 
which have b van discussed at 1 'fifth in thr.i report, T* e it era that 
follow indicate thane points where whites and Negroes differ significaatly: 
a, Negro G' idiom nr ; much noro likely to shy they thought the Inst 
movie on sax hygiene and VD v;as "vary 0oodtf (Negroes - hites-44^. 
This mas ''.iso true of the porcontago saying th e last t nil: nr 3.octur ) mas 
:,vory good” (Negrons - 58<£; chiton - 56rS) • This 'iin.].y favor*'bla reaction ' 
exists in spit e of th. . fact’that Nogroos -reoeiv y . ' y more VD talks and 
movies than mhitos. r-?hlie the average (median'* white r Idler said he 
had heard one talk and had soon on lecture in th previous .six months, 
the average Negro reported ’.bout four movies and 10 talks on. YD* 
. b, Th.e only important difference betvjeon vfhlte -nd Negro NM in. 
the may th. .y r.rka contacts a? 1th v:amen in Italy is t' t Negroes aro 
do finitely more lit: ly to say that, tfI found her jar m or apart jnert by myself, 
Nhoroas 15 per c at of whites s leeted that ansmor,' 56 per cent of Negroes 
did. This indicates a’gr .ater regularity of sexual contact ** .Long Negroes 
th an vp g tru e -a f mh it os. 
c. Nogroos are able t’ get to - tavjn dr city .on - a 
as vjh.it as, and th y ar > as lik.Oy to say thay rat ° f ir shore of passes. 
However, * Pgr res get fewer overnight passes thnn vh.lt .s of rfliit )0‘ and 
50$ of Nogr 'm. h.avo..never had a: overnight par.;, in It 'ly), but it is 
possible that Negroes r -quest fewer ovornig t passes. Regard lass of 
mhy this happeno, it indicates t’- t Nogr.es mill m:v feme.- "sh- ok. jobs" 
and’thus less expesur ■ under these prophylactic lly rh.d. ,cirable conditions, 
d, ~Jh. try are on pans, Nograes frankly at at that th ) search for 
women is th. most common activity. Tabl 5 gives a su.j-nr.ry of fr ;oly 
written coma x- ts on what th y d* mhen on. pass for th t it vis where whites 
and Negroes er ;• si ;.nific ntly differ xit. ”r mr era whit s s y t’- y search 
for liquor ana movies most frequently the Negro ;ST che f comment ms about 
looking for mom;: : 
T'-.fci 5 
T71int iru 
n 3 y th )y 
■ do -7:1 -n 
on- i 
•Ok. • • • 
IT.oran; oo 
kbit on 
Lo 
ok for 3’ 
•15 % 
31$ 
Look for li . 
i,, >37 
33 
40 
Go 
t o R od Or 
VS;» Club 
30 
24 
Go 
to i.i-vi os 
, op :r'- , 
r’ur 
;S 
00 
40 
Go 
on. s iG.t- 
•3 :•; in- t 
nr 
17 
24 
„ **7- 
Ik or ound 
toOn. 
i 
17 
24 
* Sine 
j tk: oi .01 
could in.' 
die .1 
no '• ny ui.ibor of net in 
ini n ’kilo 
on pnsr, 
th 5 
pore .rot eg. j 
n totol 
ncr i 
f -n 100. o. Negroes ore loss likely to suggest that the Army should sanction 
prost itut ion'outright and t-ke steps to control it in their response to 
the <iuiStion, m*hct do you think is the best thing that could bo done to 
keep thj men from getting VD?;T 'Thorns 31 per cent rf uhitos make the 
suggestion, only 15 por c ent of Negroes do. Instead, Negroes are more 
• likely to emphasize carefulness and the traditional double precaution - 
use a condom; take a Fro (Nogroos - 33*?; whites - lr$). 6. Ways in Which VJhites and Negro os Aro Alike 
Ordinarily, if two groups react alike to a series of questions, it is suf- 
ficient to state the general fact and ignore the detail. This will not bo dono 
in this section, however, because of the fact that some expected differences bo* 
tween whites and Negroes on many of the it**»s failed to appear, A good exompl 
of this is item (a), that follows. Other items are included in order to corapleJ 
the story os briefly as possible: 
a, Negroes score just about as well on the 7-question VD information test 
as whites, While 90 per cent of whites get 4 or more right answers, 88 per con 
of Negroes did. While the two groups are alike on total score, there is one 
question that stands out as an area in which both whites and Negroes seem to 
need education, but especially the Negro, That question asked, (a)VHavo you 
heard or road about the now drug (penicillin) th .t is being used to treat ven- 
ereal diseases?", and (b) "So far as you kaow, can it cure all cases of gonor- 
rhea and syphilis?" Only 50 per cent of whites and 30 per cent of Negroes get 
the pair of answers which arc considered correct for the quiz ("Yes" to the fir 
question and "No" to the second). This is a poor showing. 
Conversely, 22 per cent of whites and 30 per cent of Negroes said that 
penicillin will cure all cases of gonorrhea and syphilis. The remaining men 
indicated that they either had not he-rd of the drug or did not know what it 
could do. These men who say positively that the drug will cure all cases of 
VD are a real problem for medical educators. It cannot be said that these mor 
are relying only:upon a quick cure, and are not using any prophylaxis, but it IS 
possible that many of the men now have a feeling of security which leads them 
to carelessness in foreplay or afternlay if not during the actual act of inter 
course. Some of the men insist that they have been told by medical men that 
penicillin will indeed cure’all cases of VD, If they have been told this by 
Army or civilian pyhsicians, then marking their answers to this question as 
incorrect on the quiz was an injustice to the men, for they have no recourse 
but to rely upon authority. It is quite likely, too, that they would prefer 
to believe that penicillin will cure °11 cases of VD if some medical men say 
that it will. This is an area of confusion which properly deserves attention 
from medical educators. 
b, There is no important difference between whites nd Negroes in the pro* 
portion who say they pay cash for intercourse (whites - 72$; Negroes - 76$), o* 
in the proportion who definitely pay with cigarettes, food, or clothing, 
c, Married Negroes have less frequent intercourse than single Negroes, 
older Negroes have less than the younger, the college bred less than those on 
lower education levels, church members*slightly 1 ,ss frequent intercourse thar 
n on-church members, and Northern Negroes slightly Ijss fan Southern, As was 
true of whites on those san; points, none of these differs:.cos wore* very large 
f ey in no way wipe rut the fact that the groat .j rity of non in any of tho, 
groups hav.> intercourse while overseas, ‘ d. With tine overseas, the frequency of sexual contact and tho per cant 
reporting VD builds up, 03 was truo of whites, 
e. Sergeants report loss froeuent intercourse a loss VD overseas 
than corporals or privates as was true of whites, t o, This is not an 
important finding in view of tho liklihood that they aro older, more 
likoly'to bo married, and ospocially duo to tho fact that many ex-sorgoants 
s~y thoy were ’’busted** because they had contracted VD. Now they arc 
privates or corporals, and thj infection is charged statistically against 
tho lower rank. That this matter of ’’busting” may bo no minor matter is 
indicated in tho following comment $rs Negro sergeant: 
”In this battalion a man that catches a vonore"1 disease is 
always busted and very often court f• r t’nt reason. 
He will try and cure it himself rather than turn it in,” 
f. Although there is a greater proportion of Negroos who thoy 
, loft a girl behind whom they expect to marry (Negroes - 56$; whites - 
42$), it is a fact that having 0 "loy-'l” sweetheart does not stop tho 
majority of this group from having Intercourse. This Is as true for 
whites as it is for Negroes, 
g. Negroes who say thoy usually drink before intercourse h-vo 
picked up significantly more TO while overseas, as was true of vjhitos ~lso. 
Related to this is the fact, as was true of whites, that they aro much less 
likoly to say thoy have good prophylactic habits, ’lore important is tho 
fact noted in item (c) of section 3 . _ which points 
cut that fewjr Negroes say they drink before intercourse, which tends to 
reduce the danger-: for Negroes, 
h, Negros are as likoly as whites to have bars in their ujiits 
or somewhere ”on limits” which they can patronize. 
i. Negro outfits apparently have somewhat more d 'ices or parties than 
white outfits (Negro - 44$ have them once a week or n re; white - 34$), 
j. There are no significant differences in o' e requests of the 
two groups for more diversionary activities except t ~t Nogroos wore 
mere likely t'- request ’’Glasses in different school sub loots and training 
fop civilian jobs”, while whites m ro frequently r.wnested "Hero movies.” m. consign 
Hie Negro soldiers have more freiusnt sexual contacts than white soldiers 
in Italy, That is a cardinal fact making for higher VI) rates per 1000 soldiers 
even if it wera true that their VD rate per 1000 sexual cont cts 173re the same 
as whites. Just why the Negro has more intercourse is a matter of speculation 
the survey provides no lata on this subject, 
high-ir VD rate per 1000 soldiers is due to a combination of his more 
frequent ssxuel contact and the additional likelihe d that he will contact 
women who are diseased. It is probable that his better prophylactic habits 
offset a proportion of this additional hazard, a d it is possible that if the 
women to whom he had access were as free of disease as are the woman to whom 
thd whites have access, the Negro’s better prophylactic practices (if continued 
would offset the greater risk occasioned by his tend-j cy toward greater fre- 
quency of intercourse. 
T he Negro soldier seems to be as well informed as the white on the fact 
and problems of TrD. T her afore, if the task of getting him to reduce the 
frequency of his sexual intercourse seems unlikely to produce results, the big 
steps for reducing VD that were suggested in the Conclusion to the White re- 
port are equally applicable to the Negro, In addition, the Negroes* own sug- 
gestion that their situation with regard to VD could, be improved if MPs treated 
them and the girls with whom they are seen in exactly th3 way they treat white 
soldiers who are saen with girls has considerable merit if the Army wants to 
reduce VD among Negroes, If it is true that Italian rinls who are seen with 
Negro troops are likely to be taken by I.IPs for a physical examination simply 
because they are with Negro soldiers, then indeed the better class of girls wiff 
stay away from Negroes end they will have to resort to the women of the weeds, 
woods, and tbe out-of-bounds areas, 
T here is no evidence from the survey that sue’' repressive IIP activity 
reduces the Negro’s frequency of contact, but there is evidence that it drives 
him toward a more infected class of women. It is possible that repressive, ac- 
tivity does reduce his frequency of content. buo this is doubtful. It is just 
as possible that the Ne ro is stimulated to got around the ISPs somehow, since 
he knows that many of the women of Italy find him quite acceptable sexually, 
even if the M?s disapprove of it. However? MP activity to date has probably 
influenced the Italian girl*s behavior sufficiently so that it is too late to 
change her attitudes, Huch policy-making with regard to the position and treat, 
mont of the Negro soldi sr would have to come early i., the game. Tho second major suggest ion of the Negr-' to the off oct ‘thot white 
S'ldioro should cj go spread inf stories nacsig It o Hons "Hoging thot tho 
Negro is on inferior being, seems a ro il enourh »ry ■ f reducing XT) in tho 
son so t’rt it would moko available to him. c hotter doss of .jomen, From, a 
policy-making point of view, It is net clear just n -t tv, Amy could do 
at this late date that would bo effectivo. As in. c~re of la? activity 
involving Negroes and women, such stops be effective mart be token 
, before o loed population which has little prejudice og- i'st ‘’agrees to 
begin with, con cone to ccnuirc than.