Why was there said to be a racial bias in the Vietnam war?

Answer 1

Social scientists will be arguing this question for a long time. The facts do indicate that blacks and Hispanics may have died in disproportionate numbers during the Vietnam War. Wealthy young men could remain in schools and universities with a student exemption. Many also had the cash available to spend a few years exiled in Canada or Sweden. The Navy and the Air Force were almost lilly white at the time which placed the minorities into the Army and Marine Corps where casualty rates were much higher. Education also played a factor in that higher AFQT scores put the better educated into technical positions well to the rear of direct fire weapons. Blacks and Hispanics probably had about a one percent higher death rate then their white counterparts.

Answer 2

The only real racism was involved with US forces fighting amongst themselves. Sit-ins & work refusals aboard US Navy vessels; and physical confrontations within the ground forces.

Note: This was the era of civil rights and the Black Panthers. And the US Military was strongly affected by both of them.

Frankly, both U.S. and Allied forces exhibited classic racism against the Vietnamese (both North and South). American soldiers (of all colors) frequently used racial slurs against the Vietnamese, and few held the Vietnamese as equals.

Although it is less well documented, the Vietnamese people held their own (rather justifiable, in my opinion) racist views of most Americans. This had to do with a long, and complex history that Vietnam had with European Imperialism, and was reinforced by the attitudes of the allied Americans.

Inside the American forces, there was considerably racial tension (and, outright racism). As noted above, this was the period of the Civil Rights Movement, where the U.S. was moving from a culture of accepted racism to a (nominally) post-racist one. The U.S. Military reflected society at the time, and racism (in both directions) was common, if not perhaps as bad as it was in the Southern U.S.

Answer 3

The 1960s was the era of the civil rights (and women's liberation) movement in America. The 1960s was also the time period when "Blacks" were both officially and informally transitioning from the term "Negro" to "Blacks." In the US Army, during the Vietnam War (as well as all wars previous to Vietnam), todays "African Americans" were officially classified as "Negros."

Because of this "transitioning phase" in America during that time period, "Black Panthers", civil rights leaders (such as Martin Luther King, etc.), civil rights marches, civil rights protests and riots (as depicted on television news, usually in black and white film footage/often showing policemen using "water hoses" to squelch down marchers, etc.), there was also "racial bias" in the US military, since the US military drew its men from the civilian population (from society) that was experiencing this turmoil. In Vietnam, however, everyman was armed, thus "fragging" (killing officers and NCOs) became somewhat common, this, being a part of the "racial bias" that escalated/extended into violence in large US military base camps.

Answer 4

Everything