American troops experienced the Vietnam War as a fully integrated military, where, for one of the first times, white and Black soldiers fought side by side together. As a result, the Vietnam War is often described as the most racially integrated conflict in United States history. However, African American soldiers faced significant inequalities in Vietnam and upon their return home. Drawing on local narratives from African American Vietnam War veterans in the Metropolitan Detroit area who served between 1966 and 1971, this study challenges the dominant narratives of military service by examining their post-war experiences through the lens of discrimination. Due to discrimination, Black veterans residing in Detroit encountered additional challenges in their socio-economic and psychological lives, including limited access to GI Bill benefits, high unemployment rates, inadequate mental health care for PTSD treatment, and the social stigma associated with both their race and their status as Vietnam veterans.
Kayla Gray (Sun,) studied this question.