Although Matthews was a prominent Omaha banker and lawyer, and an even more prominent Roman Catholic layman, little attention has been paid to his career outside of his tenure as SECNAV, since it is in this capacity that he had the greatest institutional impact. In some arenas as SECNAV, he was successful, such as his efforts to integrate minorities into the mainstream of the Navy and Marine Corps via actions such as ALNAV 49-447, which mandated, "...equal opportunity for all personnel in the Navy/Marine Corps without regard of race, color, religion or national origin," and his 1950 policy statement prohibiting, "...discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in enlistment, appointment, promotion, or assignment..." of Navy and Marine Corps personnel.