WAR IN FOCUS
BEER BREAK IN THE JUNGLE 1975
© Getty
Ser vicemen pose with a puppy and drink beer in front of their for tification during the Vietnam War. This was the first conflict fought by the US Army with desegregated units. However, racism remained widespread at nearly every level of the militar y. African-Americans represented 16.3 percent of all draftees despite comprising 11 percent of the US population. Once in the Vietnam theatre of operations, minority ethnicities were more likely to be given dangerous roles and suffered higher casualties than their white comrades as a result.