06/24/2026
Fort Ord, a U.S. Army base founded in 1917, made history as the first military base to implement full racial integration following President Harry Truman’s 1948 executive order to desegregate the armed forces.
From his business, The Brass Tap in Marina, Karl Waller reflects on his childhood home at Fort Ord, where his father, Samuel James Waller, was stationed in the mid-1970s.
Fort Ord became the first U.S. Army base to implement full racial integration following President Truman’s 1948 executive order, leaving a lasting legacy for those who lived and served there.