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Race in the Crucible of War: African American Soldiers and Race Relations in the "Nam"

Goodwin, Gerald F.

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
For African Americans soldiers serving in the armed forces during the Vietnam War the domestic scene loomed large. African Americans perceived racial issues, race relations, prejudice, and discrimination; in Vietnam through a lens heavily influenced by their earlier experiences in the United States. Issues related to race and race relations helped to define the African American experience in the United States, and these same issues defined the experiences of black soldiers in Vietnam. Race relations in combat were typified by cooperation, shared sacrifice, and a sense of brotherhood. These positive relations were largely a reflection of the fact that black and white soldiers in combat were heavily dependent on one another. Despite these positive interactions with whites, African Americans did not view the armed forces as an institution free of racial prejudice. Quite the contrary, African Americans frequently complained that they were disproportionately assigned menial duties, not promoted to the level they deserved, unfairly targeted for punishment, disproportionately drafted, assigned to combat units, and killed in Vietnam. Relations outside of combat were typified by racial tension and violence. Between 1969 and 1971 hundreds, if not thousands, of incidents of racial violence occurred in and around American military bases in Vietnam. In many respects, the armed forces failure to address adequately black complaints of racial discrimination contributed to these outbreaks of violence. During their time in Vietnam, many African American soldiers developed strong opinions and perceptions about the Vietnamese. Knowing very little about the Vietnamese or Vietnam in general, African American soldiers interpreted what they observed in Vietnam from a perspective shaped almost entirely by their own experiences back home. They empathized with Vietnamese civilians as persons of color and as victims of poverty and white mistreatment. Many also believed that the Vietnamese were similarly empathetic towards the African Americans struggle against racial prejudice and discrimination in the United States. This perception of empathy extended towards PAVN and NLF forces. Vietnamese communists actually promoted this idea through the use of leaflets and radio broadcasts, both of which gave the impression that they meant no harm to black soldiers and distinguished them from whites.
Chester Pach (Committee Chair)
Robin Muhammad (Committee Member)
Ingo Trauschweizer (Committee Member)
Katherine Jellison (Committee Member)
377 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Goodwin, G. F. (2014). Race in the Crucible of War: African American Soldiers and Race Relations in the "Nam" [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399548260

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Goodwin, Gerald. Race in the Crucible of War: African American Soldiers and Race Relations in the "Nam". 2014. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399548260.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Goodwin, Gerald. "Race in the Crucible of War: African American Soldiers and Race Relations in the "Nam"." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1399548260

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)