what were his reasons?
Even though the Army was not yet “integrated”, it had “black” units. From Byrdie’s POV, that made it full of those nasty, low-down, disgusting nigXXXs ... and no place for his racially-pure ass. I’d have to look it up again (and I’m too lazy) to get the quote exactly right, but IIRC he would have preferred to see the United States destroyed, than to serve in an Army containing blacks.
"I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."
— Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944,
Charming ...
Hmmmm ... wouldn't half-white half-black Barry Hussein qualify as a "race mongrel"? ROFL!!!!!