Black Marines in the Vietnam era were patriots and good troops in my experience in Vietnam

NY Times:

The Untold Story of the Black Marines Charged With Mutiny at Sea

Racial strife aboard a Navy ship left three men facing the threat of the death penalty. They
became little more than statistics in the military’s dismal record of race relations in the
Vietnam era.
I was a 1st Lt. when I got to Vietnam in 1968.  Initially, I was the Assistant Commander of the 3rd Marine Division Communication Center.  The black troops in that unit did their job just like the other Marines and I saw no racial strife.

I later became the Executive Officer of a rifle company of Marines on the DMZ.  We had several black Marines in that unit and they all did their job without complaint.  I did not see any racial strife among the troops.  I recall that one of the black Marines had gone awol after returning from R&R before I joined the company, but had served his time in the brig and was back with the company.  He was a good Marine after that experience and I told him he should tell his story to other troops who were going on R&R so that they would not make the same mistake.

Marines in a rifle company face more stress than Marines on a ship, but they are not confined to tight quarters like those on a ship.  I liked all of my Marines and would love to see them again.

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