Vietnam War

Abstract

African Americans have served in every war of the United States and colonial America dating back to the French and Indian War (1756–1763). By the time the United States involved itself in the Vietnam conflict (1955–1973), over 250,000 African Americans had served in country, stateside, or in a US military outpost in Europe, Southeast Asia or the Far East. The Vietnam War was fought during the Cold War amid the civil rights, Black Power, women’s rights, and voting rights movements. As early as 1945 the US government had an opportunity to work with the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh to actualize the independence of Vietnam. Instead, it supported the French repatriation of its Southeast Asia colony, Indochina. Thus, the start of the First Indochina War in 1946 witnessed French forces that included Francophone African soldiers. The United States supported the French with intelligence, weapons, and financing. After the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the United States remained invested in South Vietnam using a policy of stopping the spread of communism in Asia. Initially serving as advisors and offering training and support to the army of the Republic of Vietnam, the United States slowly escalated its advisory force and then by the early 1960s added combat units. African American soldiers were part of the military initiative all along. Although President Harry S. Truman had integrated the armed forces with Executive Order 9981 in 1948 and its trial in the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Vietnam War became the first American war to have a fully sanctioned racially integrated military. The era of the Vietnam War, from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, was also the era of major civil rights activities. Civil rights and Vietnam crossed paths on many occasions and was exploited by various factions indicating that the military was not immune to the social and political challenges of civil rights. The civil rights movement also meant a heightened scrutiny of the war. Some African Americans protested the war as an extension of the civil rights movement. Iconic protesters like Muhammad Ali came to symbolize defiance to America’s foreign policies. However, those who did serve did so with valor. Twenty African Americans were recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The focus of this article is to provide a guide to sources and documentation of useful works that address the complex history of the Vietnam War and the role of African Americans in it.