African-Americans and Vietnam

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the enormous tension, turbulence and racial strife in the U.S. in the 1960s carried over to the men of color and to the white troops in the Vietnam war. The paper explores the situation of African-American soldiers serving in the jungles of Vietnam and points to the manifestations and ramifications of that tension and turbulence, through first person accounts, oral histories and the historical record.

Outline:
Introduction
Thesis
What it Was Like for African-American Soldiers Serving in the Jungles of Vietnam
Why Did They Enlist
What Life Was Actually Like for black soldiers in Vietnam
Oral Histories of the Vietnam War from the Black Perspective
How Black Soldiers in Vietnam Related to the Antiwar Movement Back Home

From the Paper:

"There was an enormous amount of tension and turbulence and racial strife in the U.S. in the 1960s. That tension and turbulence carried over to the men of color and to the white troops in the Vietnam war, and this paper will point to the manifestations and ramifications of that tension and turbulence, through first person accounts, oral histories, and the historical record. "War is hell. The cliche still works, years after someone first uttered those words. It always will work whether it is Iraq, Vietnam, or Omaha Beach. But when you're black and fighting a war for a nation that excludes you from the mainstream of its social and political life back home, as it was true for many blacks in Vietnam, it's a double dose of hell. Because, you know that jobs for African Americans will not offer the same opportunities for advancement when you get home, and schools for your children may not be as modern as schools for white children. All those unpleasant realities notwithstanding, the African American soldiers in Vietnam fought and died along side their comrades-in-arms of all nationalities, albeit at the end of the day blacks had their part of town and white soldiers had theirs. And blacks died in disproportionate numbers to whites, as the institutional racism that flourished in America was transplanted to the soggy mosquito-ridden landscape of Vietnam."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Appy, Christian G. 1993. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam. ChapelHill: The University of North Carolina Press.
• Baskir, Lawrence M.; & Strauss, William A. 1978. Chance and Circumstance: The Draft, theWar, and the Vietnam Generation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Central Intelligence Agency. 1969. Inquiry into the Disturbances at Marine Corps Base, CampLejeune, N.C., on July 20, 1969. African-American involvement in the Vietnam War. Retrieved Nov. 21, 2007, from http://www.aavw.org/served/homepage_tensions.html.
• Ford, Nancy Gentile. 1998. Fighting on Two Fronts: African Americans and the Vietnam War.Journal of American Ethnic History 17 (4): 124-127.
• Goff, Stanley; Sanders, Robert; & Smith, Clark. 1982. Brothers: Black Soldiers in the Nam.Novato, CA: Presidio Press.

More papers on African-Americans and Vietnam:

• Essay # 44751 : "African-Americans in Vietnam"
• Essay # 52396 : "African-Americans: Serving With Pride and Distinction"
• Analytical Essay # 54639 : "War and the African-American Community"

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