Black Service

African Americans have served in every war waged by the United States. Throughout the nation's history, African American soldiers, sailors, and Marines have contributed conspicuously to America's military efforts. From the Civil War through the Korean War, segregated African Americans, performed in both combat and support capacities. Although the Navy and Air Force accomplished integration by 1950, the Army, with the vast majority of African American servicemen, did not achieve desegregation until after the Korean conflict. Vietnam marked the first major deployment of an integrated military and the first time since the turn of the century that African American participation was actually encouraged.In 1962 President John F. Kennedy reactivated the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces. Gesell Committee, the panel explored ways to draw qualified African Americans into military service. In 1964 African Americans represented approximately 13% of the U.S. population but less than 9% of the nation's men in arms. Before the government could react to the committee's report, the explosion of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia changed the problem. An expanded military, a discriminatory draft, and other government programs brought not only increased African American participation but new forms of discrimination.U.S. involvement in Vietnam

unfolded against the civil rights movement. African American troops brought charges of racism. Civil rights leaders and other critics, described the Vietnam conflict as racist—"a white man's war, a black man's fight." Martin Luther king jr. Stated that black youths represented a disproportionate share of early draftees and that African Americans faced a much greater chance of seeing combat.The draft did pose a major concern. Selective Service regulations offered deferments for college attendance and a variety of essential civilian occupations that favored middle- and upper- class whites. The vast majority of draftees were poor, undereducated, and urban—blue-collar workers or unemployed. This reality struck hard in the African American community., African Americans were woefully underrepresented on local draft boards; in 1966 blacks accounted for slightly more than 1 % of all draft board members, and seven state boards had no black representation at all."Project 100,000," a Great Society program launched in 1966, attempted to enhance the opportunities of underprivileged youths from poverty-stricken urban areas by offering more lenient military entrance requirements. It largely failed. Although more than 350,000 men enlisted under Project 100,000 during the remainder of the war, 41% were African American and 40 percent drew combat assignments. Casualty rates among these soldiers were twice those of other entry categories. Few Project 100,000 inductees received training that would aid their military advancement or create better opportunities for civilian life.African Americans often did supply a disproportionate number of combat troops, a high percentage of whom had voluntarily enlisted. Although they made up less than 10 percent of American men in arms and about 13 percent of the U.S. population between 1961 and 1966, they accounted for almost 20 %

of all combat-related deaths in Vietnam during that period. In 1965 alone African Americans represented almost one-fourth of the Army's killed in action. In 1968 African Americans, who made up roughly 12 % of Army and Marine total strengths, contributed half the men in front-line combat units. Under heavy criticism, Army and Marine commanders worked to lessen black casualties after 1966, and by the end of the conflict, African American combat deaths amounted to approximately 12% —more in line with national population figures. Final casualty estimates do not support the assertion that African Americans suffered disproportionate losses in Vietnam, but this in no way diminishes the fact that they bore a heavy share of the fighting burden, especially early in the conflict.Destructive riots in the Watts district of Los Angeles and in Harlem had negative effects on the military, but the widespread violent reaction to the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King brought the greatest racial turmoil to the armed forces. Racial strife, rarely an issue among combat units because of shared risk and responsibility, became most evident in rear areas and on domestic installations. At the Navy base at Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam, white sailors donned Ku Klux Klan-like outfits, burned crosses, and raised the Confederate flag. African American prisoners, many of whom were jailed for violent crimes, rioted at the U.S. Army stockade at Long Binh, RVN; one white soldier was killed and several others were wounded during the upheaval, which spread over weeks. The Marine base at Camp Lejeune and the Army's Fort Benning were among the important domestic posts to witness serious racial problems.

African Americans played a major role in Vietnam and, in the process, changed the complexion of the U.S. Armed Forces. Contrary to popular impressions, a large proportion of African American servicemen were well-trained, highly motivated professionals; 20 received the Medal of Honor, and several became general officers. Despite the likelihood of seeing hazardous duty, they reenlisted at substantially higher rates than whites. In 1964 blacks represented less than 9 % of all U.S. Armed Forces; by 1976 they made up more than 15 percent of all men in arms. Although the percentage of African American officers doubled between 1964 and 1976, they still accounted for less than 4 percent of the total.I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.

Vietnam "War"

Black Service