Black and White Soldiers Figbting Eacb Other+Harder' Tban Vietcong

Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001); Nov 23,1968;

ProQuest Historical Newspapers Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)

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IBlack and White Soldiers FightillJl

Each .Other 'Harder' ·ThanVieteoog /
WASHlNG'l'ON-fNPl>.FDeereu- ~ fit "Watttng wt a war tha .sloughed off. He is not ioin~
ed fightin·· as its bad few people can make much sense suffer indignities.". //
s· S gi~ t~e .GIs m . e out of. Racla! harmOD,Y ong U. S.
I~JlIItm-""'~~J!mterraclal hos (The U. S. Armed Forces are a servicemen iir VielDam cannot be
ell- on each ether, assic example 01 extremes. While achievild by regulation tIie Penta.
an 1 e ODe group of GIs· might be fighting gon official added. "The key Is
workshop." servicemen away from 24 ho~ a day. an~ther group may good. t\X8IIIple and leadenihlp all
front-line combat· are spending have literally nothing to do.) down the way." \
more of their ijroe fighting among Anger and Jmj!atience under- - An 0rJ>b&....Com Julia. _
lliemselves and less time fighting standably grow out of~idleness and
the Vietcong. boredom. The very black: and white
The same situation OCCllITed at GIs who might have laid down
.the end of World War II. when their lives for each. other in a time .
battle is between black Imd white of tcoubl~ act almost entirely dU. I
servicemen became more frequent {erently when the danger is past. (
than before. Then, instead of directing their (
The problem is most acute in hatreds a~ fears toward the ene- ~
those areas Wh~ere. oclalize in my. they direet them toward each j
Vietnam-ma tab. other. (
I~. where w tte and The result is racial fighllng·such t
bla~re directed at the as that which erupted in Da Nang !
COmmunist enemv. service clubs and in the Long Binh I
Just as there are prDverbially no jail. I
athiests in foxholes, there are few According to Jack l\loskowitz, f
bigots in front·line duty. deputy assistant secretary of de- J
But the story in service clubs reuse lot' civil rights, racial Incl- a

which breeds a multitude of mis- ing decreases.

a.
and behind-the-line areas is differ· dents a)llong the troops in Vietnam f
ent. There. the problem is idleness. are likely to Inerease the rIght. s
c
chiefs, as well as apprehension that "The young Negro servicemen is
one might be sent into combat. expressing his black awareness and
Combined With this, for many wants it to be peeted," l\Ios- e
rear-area GIs. is the boredom and kiwitz said,. "He ts not going to be a

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