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... ly racist, a large portion of white soldiers had at least one black friend while serving. It was a chance for them to open their eyes and see a person, not just a color. Often times working towards a common goal will lead people to do things they previously thought impossible, this was the case in Nam. All the soldiers had to work together, their enemy was quick and sly and you needed to be able to count on every man in your unit to be doing the best job they could. This was a need that was not seen on the home front, all they saw were numbers and the two sides, black and white, were working against one another within the civil rights movement.
The following is a quote from a soldier who fought in Vietnam, Jan Scruggs, January of 1970 there was a terrible tragedy; I saw 12 men die. It was a very instantaneous thing and of these 12 men, two were from Puerto Rico, one was Jewish, one was black, the others were assorted Caucasians. The only thing that came to me was the only color that I saw was red, the red of -- the color of blood of a little 19 year old kids who had been the victim of a terrible tragedy. There was so much death and destruction in the Vietnam War there was little time to worry about if the body next to you was black or white, you just knew that it was a soldier who had died fighting for his country.
There were sections of the armed forces that didnt assimilate together as well as others. Often times the people not stationed in the front lines, never had that chance to be in a situation where you need to depend on a person of another race. Their racist, separatist attitudes ingrained in them since they were young, continued. Had they all been given the opportunity, as bittersweet as it may seem, perhaps things would have been different for them too. Men who went off to war certainly didnt come back the same people. Their experiences were unique and many veterans say they wish they could give the U.
S. people an opportunity to see what they went through because it may have an impact on the way people view race. First and foremost one has to remember that they are American. Modern War (past 20 years) Within the last ten years racism has become a very big problem within the American military.
Soldiers following hate groups have found there way into the armed forces and have been committing serious offences against races other than their own. I came across a story about a group of Neo Nazis serving in fort Bragg. On a December night in 1995, three white soldiers from the Army's 82 nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N. C. , got into a car and drove around Fayetteville in search of black people to kill. They happened to come across a couple out on a stroll.
Two of the GIs, Pvt's. Jim Burmeister and Malcolm Wright, got out of the car and confronted Michael James and Jackie Burden. Holding a 9 mm pistol, Burmeister forced both to kneel and then fired several shots into their heads. Burmeister had told friends that although he had already been tattooed with a spider, a symbol of having killed for the cause, he wanted to officially earn the racist badge. (Covert Action) They were arrested the next morning.
When the police searched their room, they found that it was covered in swastikas. They even found equipment to build bombs with. Burmeister and Wright were charged with murder. These murders spawned a huge investigation of fort Bragg.
Many cover-ups were exposed. Investigators found that there were many other cases of hate crimes happening at the base but military officers were covering up the crimes without issuing any type of punishment. There was another incidence that happened in Kuwait on March 23, 2003. Sgt. Hasan Akbar lobbed three hand grenades into the tent of his fellow military personnel. Two men died from the attack and fourteen were injured.
The incident was premeditated and very deliberate. On March 24, 2004 Sgt. Akbar was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to the death penalty. The attacks by Sgt. Akbar seemed to be motiveless at first, but after deep military investigation, they found that he was the victim of various types of discrimination during his time in the military. "Three years ago, Hasan started complaining about the problems he was having as a black man in the military, " William Bilal, Sgt. Akbar's former stepfather told The Times on March 26.
The stepfather went on to say that, in the past, "racism in the armed forces had been a problem for others in the family, including himself, " according to the story, by Peter T. Kilborn. "We saw it all in training and everywhere else, " William Bilal said. Further, Sgt. Akbar's brother, 20 -year-old Ishmael Bilal, was recently honorably discharged from the Air Force, saying he also experienced similar racial problems. "I know what he [Akbar] is going through, " Ishmael Bilal told The Times. (AOL) One of Akbar's former officers said that Akbar was known for having an attitude problem. This attitude problem was obviously the result of non-conformation to the rules set by the officer.
We don't know the full details of Sgt. Akbar's experiences at Fort Campbell, but family members have told journalists that Akbar had been upset in recent years by race-related incidents he'd experienced in the military. (AOL) Both of the situations mentioned above show how bad racism in the military has become. Everywhere that one goes there is going to be racism but the military is a place that discrimination and hate crimes simply should not exist. One key component that all of the hate crimes have in common is that they were the result of earlier cover-ups by military officials. Every case had signs that were obvious but the military chose not to address the situation. This type of behavior can not exist if anyone wants to fix this problem.
Burmeister's room was covered in Nazi paraphernalia and other types of items that are clearly signs of racist activity. If the military had a simple check of the rooms on a consistent basis they would have found that there was something out of the ordinary. In Sgt. Akbar's case a psych evaluation would have showed that the Sergeant was having racial issues. The government needs to crack down on this problem or it will begin to escalate. The military is turning into a jail system by closing people in so they cant leave and not giving them the rights they deserve.
The military is an organization committed to trust and equality but those words are very rarely used anymore. Change From War As illustrated in the above wars, minorities have been abused or used in a manner that is demoralizing or harmful to that particular minority group. Through segregation or through the front lines minorities have been getting the short end of the stick for centuries. Whether they have been forced into battle first, into almost certain death, or are victims in a conspiracy to stop a civil rights movement, or the target of a hate group, minorities have for the most part been treated unfairly from one war to the next. It is not until times of great need that the thin social web breaks and all become equals in the face of a bullet. Unfortunately treatment of minorities has not necessarily improved but the methods of discrimination have changed over time to match the current social views.
In the revolutionary war they went from slaves to freedom fighters. In the World War II they went from cooks to saving white bomber pilots butts over Berlin. In todays modern military they went from a poor education and neighborhood to a chance at a new life in the military and a paid education upon completion of their duty in service. In the land of anarchy every man, woman, or child is as free as the next person. , because unfortunately in war, the great equalizer is death.
Works Cited A press conference held specifically to determine veterans views on race in Vietnam hosted by Sanford Gottlieb web A Chronology of African American Military Service. web African Americans in the American Revolution. web Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Ed. Spencer C. Tucker.
Oxford, U. K. : abc-cl 10, 1998. Minority Groups in World War II. Selective Service and Victory. web Molnar, Alexander. Navajo Code Talkers: World War II Facts Sheet.
web Racism Within The Ranks, Covert Action Quarterly, web Reading Between the Lines: A Soldier's Story, AOL Black Voices, April 7, 2003, web Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. 15 Nov. 2005 web
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