3.+Military+Discrimination

Name: Raymond G. Johnson Birth date: December 10, 1916 Date of Incident: March 12, 1941 Interests: Being part of army General Info: 25 years old Member of US Army African-American Joseph Natale October 20, 2008 US History II  __ Military Discrimination  __ By Joe Natale (In the form of a letter from a black man at time of war) March 12, 1941 Dear President Roosevelt, My name is Raymond G. Johnson. I am currently a United States Soldier in-training at the Fort Knox Military Base in Fort Knox, Kentucky. I am twenty-five years old and I am from California. Above all though, as I have come to realize within the past couple years more than ever, I am a Black-American. As I said, I am currently training at the Fort Knox Military Academy. It is here that the United States Army has established the 78th Tank Battalion, the first black armor unit. We are in training to learn about armed warfare. We are without question some of the best military tankers in the black community, and perhaps the whole country. This is no surprise to me though, considering my father was Sgt. Henry Johnson of the 369th Infantry Regiment of 1917(Adams 1).                 http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/CHRON3.html My father However, for someone unlike me who is just a normal outside man looking in from one of these minority groups, especially African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Asian Americans, are wondering if this is their war to fight. They wonder this because lately they have been restricted to racially segregated neighborhoods and reservations and denied basic citizenship rights (Bowes 564). The point is plain and simple and it is just that we are segregated. We as American citizens, just as much as everybody else who’s putting their life on the line to serve their country, deserve the benefits of every other soldier. We are all black in my battalion and our commanders are all white officers! (Adams 1) These officers all talk down to us. They don’t think that we have it in us just because we are minorities. In studies by the military, blacks were often classified as unfit for combat and we are not allowed on the front lines (Burnett 1). We are “unfit” to fight alongside white soldiers. Mr. President, I am not one to ask much for in this world, nor will I ever be, but I just ask when you hear me out, and not for myself, but for my brothers fighting in this war too. Blacks should be able to fight alongside whites in integrated squadrons. For the time being however, we are just blacks yet our loyalty shows that we keep getting more and more of us volunteering each year. These are just some numbers you may want to consider. We are true U.S. Army soldiers. Sincerely, Raymond G. Johnson My battalion http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-05/2005-05-10-voa47.cfm __ Works Cited __ Adams, Terrence. "African Americans in WWII." __Integration of the Armed Services__. 21 Oct 2008 . Bowes, John S.. "Recruiting and Discrimination." __The__ __ Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century __. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. Burnett, Andrew. "African-American Soldiers in World War II Helped Pave Way for Integration of US Military." __ NewsVOA.com __. May 10 2005. 21 Oct 2008 .