When I was a kid, many years ago, in the 1950’s, you could purchase a bag of 100 rubber soldiers for a dollar. The thing I remember was that they were all green – and all male. Ten years later, when I was in the army for real, our drill instructor informed us that the only color there was in the army was green. It was his way of saying we were all going to be treated the same. And, in Basic Training, it was true, but it was far from the reality that existed and still exists today in civilian life as well as the military.
It was not until 1948 when then president Harry Truman issued an executive order (since Congress wasn’t up to enact such a bill) integrating the military, and, it was not until 1954 that the last all-Black unit was disbanded.
It was not until 1997 when then president Bill Clinton presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to 7 Black recipients who had been overlooked in their heroic deeds since World War Two. Only one was still alive to be present at the event.
During this time, Congress reviewed the backgrounds of certain non-White veterans who also appeared to have been overlooked, and, on March 18, 2014, 24 WW2, Korean and Vietnam War veterans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. Only three were still alive to personally receive this highest recognition. It had been determined that these brave individuals were somehow passed over due to their ethnological profiles.
This was going on, while each year on Memorial Day, we honor all veterans who sacrificed their lives for this country, including those who received this nations highest military honor bestowed since the Civil War.
It is interesting, and important, to note that of those 3,467 whose outstanding bravery was recognized, 700 recipients of our Nation’s highest military honor were first generation immigrants; 29 were Native American, 60 were Hispanic, 89 were Black and 27 were Jews.
I think that says a lot. It says a lot about all the millions who served and are serving this country in uniform. That there is ethnic and cultural diversity in our nation’s fabric which cannot be downplayed by the current racist leadership of this country.
Today, with the re-emergence of tolerated, condoned and even encouraged, racial and religious hatred permeating our society, we desperately need to combat these unacceptable and vile forms of behavior through education, protest and public involvement.
If we are going to use this one day to honor our veterans who gave their lives for this Country, then we must honor them all. We must honor the Black soldier who defended our right to be racist, the Chicano soldier who defended our right to close our borders, the Native American soldier who defended our right to sell off their sacred land, the Gay soldier who defended our right to deny them a wedding cake, the Jewish and Muslim soldiers who defended our right to ridicule and attack other religions.
To clarify my point, we owe our veterans, specifically the ones I mentioned, more than just a day of recognition. Perhaps this Nation owes them and their families the daily freedom, respect, liberty, justice and pursuit of happiness that they fought and died for.
