![Blacks as a caste, the poor as a class, and its professional military. Many of the last two categories, ironically, come from the Southern United States making for improbably harmony and efficiency in the field. Inevitably as the war dragged on, racial incidents at American bases in Asia (and in occupied Europe) increased. At the front, Black casualties were disproportionately high, suggesting the possibility of bias in military assignments. There were votes in [?]ing Black and white sailors aboard American warships, and between the races at training camps in America and at Army containments[?] abroad. Off duty, Black soldiers and sailors frequented one section of town, whites another. Reflecting the growing sense](https://glamportal.auctr.edu/files/original/45df9bac8125208df3d5cb9f0cbe2d0f.jpg "Blacks as a caste, the poor as a class, and its professional military. Many of the last two categories, ironically, come from the Southern United States making for improbably harmony and efficiency in the field. Inevitably as the war dragged on, racial incidents at American bases in Asia (and in occupied Europe) increased. At the front, Black casualties were disproportionately high, suggesting the possibility of bias in military assignments. There were votes in [?]ing Black and white sailors aboard American warships, and between the races at training camps in America and at Army containments[?] abroad. Off duty, Black soldiers and sailors frequented one section of town, whites another. Reflecting the growing sense")
"War...and its Aftermath"
Title
"War...and its Aftermath"
Date
undated
Creator
Lincoln, C. Eric (Charles Eric), 1924-2000
Source
C. Eric Lincoln collection
Rights
All images in this collection either are protected by copyright or are the property of the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc., and/or the copyright holder as appropriate. To order a reproduction or to inquire about permission to publish, please contact archives@auctr.edu with specific object file name.
Identifier
auc.047.0001_001.doc.b140f14
auc.047.0001_002.doc.b140f14
auc.047.0001_003.doc.b140f14
auc.047.0001_004.doc.b140f14
auc.047.0001_005.doc.b140f14
Format
image/jpeg
Language
en
Contributor
Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
Type
Manuscripts (documents)
Text
War...and its Aftermath
On Friday, the 27th day of January, 1972, the war in Vietnam was formally brought to a close with the signing of a “cease fire” agreement in Paris. It was the longest war in American history having lasted something more than twelve years at a direct cost of more than $110 billion. It was also the most unpopular war, and the most controversial. Not many Americans were agreed upon what they were fighting for, or whether our goals had been realized when the armistice was signed. There was almost universal agreement however, that it was time, indeed long past time, to get our men out and go home.
A disproportionate number of the men fighting in Southeast Asia were Black Americans.
They were the poor and jobless conscripts who fell the inevitable heirs to the uniforms rejected by the white middle class youth, who, if their traditional insulation of cast and class, education and profession proved insufficient to protect them from physical involvement in the war, could quit the country in protest to live in Canada or Sweden. The war was a difficult and shattering experience for most black soldiers. They could not “opt for Canada” as could educated the white youth of the American establishment. By-and-by all will be forgiven and they will come home again to jobs and families and positions. Bitter experience has taught Black Americans that what is “protest” for some may well be considered “treason” for some others. (It was only in 1972 that the Federal Government finally cleared 167 Black soldiers of the all-black First Battalion of the 25th Infantry who were dishonorably discharged by President Theodore Roosevelt for “protesting” their mistreatment in Brownsville, Texas 66 years earlier in 1906!)
The burden of the war then fell upon
Blacks as a caste, the poor as a class, and its professional military. Many of the last two categories, ironically, come from the Southern United States making for improbably harmony and efficiency in the field. Inevitably as the war dragged on, racial incidents at American bases in Asia (and in occupied Europe) increased. At the front, Black casualties were disproportionately high, suggesting the possibility of bias in military assignments. There were votes in [?]ing Black and white sailors aboard American warships, and between the races at training camps in America and at Army containments[?] abroad. Off duty, Black soldiers and sailors frequented one section of town, whites another. Reflecting the growing sense
of black ethnicity at home, Blacks in the military began to find new pride in their identity. They also demanded that recognition be given their traditional food, recreational and cosmetic preferences, instead of continuing the traditional assumption that what white soldiers preferred to eat, the music they enjoyed most, or the way they liked to cut their hair was necessarily good for, or acceptable to Blacks. By the war’s end, relationships between the races in the military services was seriously deteriorated, and a series of formal investigations had been called for. The return of the war veterans posed critical problems of adjustment. Jobs needed to be found. Rehabilitation to civilian life would not be easy or
automatic. Many soldiers had been brutalized by combat, drugs, and racial experiences. There is a growing demand for an all “volunteer” army. The American establishment does not want its sons to ever again be faced with the choice of serving in a war like “Vietnam,” or expatriating themselves to avoid conscription. The expectation is that if the pay is attractive enough, under the established cadre of professional officers, the Black and the poor will be Hessians to the nation with little inconvenience to the rest of America. Should the possibility that employment and underemployment differentials between whites and blacks continue, the American army of the future may well be the largest “black” military force in the world.
On Friday, the 27th day of January, 1972, the war in Vietnam was formally brought to a close with the signing of a “cease fire” agreement in Paris. It was the longest war in American history having lasted something more than twelve years at a direct cost of more than $110 billion. It was also the most unpopular war, and the most controversial. Not many Americans were agreed upon what they were fighting for, or whether our goals had been realized when the armistice was signed. There was almost universal agreement however, that it was time, indeed long past time, to get our men out and go home.
A disproportionate number of the men fighting in Southeast Asia were Black Americans.
They were the poor and jobless conscripts who fell the inevitable heirs to the uniforms rejected by the white middle class youth, who, if their traditional insulation of cast and class, education and profession proved insufficient to protect them from physical involvement in the war, could quit the country in protest to live in Canada or Sweden. The war was a difficult and shattering experience for most black soldiers. They could not “opt for Canada” as could educated the white youth of the American establishment. By-and-by all will be forgiven and they will come home again to jobs and families and positions. Bitter experience has taught Black Americans that what is “protest” for some may well be considered “treason” for some others. (It was only in 1972 that the Federal Government finally cleared 167 Black soldiers of the all-black First Battalion of the 25th Infantry who were dishonorably discharged by President Theodore Roosevelt for “protesting” their mistreatment in Brownsville, Texas 66 years earlier in 1906!)
The burden of the war then fell upon
Blacks as a caste, the poor as a class, and its professional military. Many of the last two categories, ironically, come from the Southern United States making for improbably harmony and efficiency in the field. Inevitably as the war dragged on, racial incidents at American bases in Asia (and in occupied Europe) increased. At the front, Black casualties were disproportionately high, suggesting the possibility of bias in military assignments. There were votes in [?]ing Black and white sailors aboard American warships, and between the races at training camps in America and at Army containments[?] abroad. Off duty, Black soldiers and sailors frequented one section of town, whites another. Reflecting the growing sense
of black ethnicity at home, Blacks in the military began to find new pride in their identity. They also demanded that recognition be given their traditional food, recreational and cosmetic preferences, instead of continuing the traditional assumption that what white soldiers preferred to eat, the music they enjoyed most, or the way they liked to cut their hair was necessarily good for, or acceptable to Blacks. By the war’s end, relationships between the races in the military services was seriously deteriorated, and a series of formal investigations had been called for. The return of the war veterans posed critical problems of adjustment. Jobs needed to be found. Rehabilitation to civilian life would not be easy or
automatic. Many soldiers had been brutalized by combat, drugs, and racial experiences. There is a growing demand for an all “volunteer” army. The American establishment does not want its sons to ever again be faced with the choice of serving in a war like “Vietnam,” or expatriating themselves to avoid conscription. The expectation is that if the pay is attractive enough, under the established cadre of professional officers, the Black and the poor will be Hessians to the nation with little inconvenience to the rest of America. Should the possibility that employment and underemployment differentials between whites and blacks continue, the American army of the future may well be the largest “black” military force in the world.
Citation
Lincoln, C. Eric (Charles Eric), 1924-2000, “"War...and its Aftermath",” GLAM Center for Collaborative Teaching and Learning - Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, accessed November 21, 2024, https://glamportal.auctr.edu/items/show/581.