Nearly a fifth of the fatalities among U.S. troops in the current war in Iraq are black, which will be the highest cost African Americans have paid in any of America's wars if the trend continues.
There are also indications that Hispanics may be over-represented among the war dead, according to a Scripps Howard News Service study.
This isn't the result of minorities being assigned to dangerous duty in front-line units. Elite combat troops like Special Forces units and the Green Berets are disproportionately white, military experts said. The U.S. Army's dash to Baghdad forced supply convoys occasionally to traverse enemy-held territory in southern and central Iraq, leaving minority troops assigned to logistical units vulnerable.
"We opened ourselves up to this by driving forward, leaving long logistical supply lines that must travel territory that we do not militarily control," said David Segal, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization. "But our combat doctrine is one of deep intrusion after all, to go after the command-and-control centers of our enemies."
The study was based on an analysis of the 105 fatalities identified by the Defense Department as deaths related to the war as of April 10. Scripps Howard was able to determine the race of 98 of these, of whom 19 were African American.
"I was not aware of this and am surprised by it," said Julian Bond, national chairman of the NAACP. "I knew that black soldiers were concentrated in the non-combat positions of the military, which makes this all the more surprising. But clearly, these support troops were subjected to battle conditions unexpectedly."
The study found the race of 19.4 percent of all fatalities in which race was able to be determined was black. African Americans represent 13 percent of the U.S. population and 20 percent of all military personnel.
"African Americans are, relatively speaking, over-represented in the military. But the real point of the spear, groups like Special Ops, are almost lily white," Segal said. "It is just that in the kind of war we are fighting, there is no insulation for people in the rear areas from death or injury."
Three of the dead black soldiers - Spec. Jamaal Addison of Roswell, Ga., Pfc. Howard Johnson of Mobile, Ala., and Pfc. Brandon Sloan of Bedford, Ohio - were killed March 23 when a convoy of supply troops from the Army's 507th Maintenance Co. were ambushed Nasiriyah, Iraq.
Those three and nine others were killed either by enemy gunfire during convoy duty or by accidents while driving military vehicles. The remaining seven are reported to have died in what appear to be non-convoy related combat encounters.
The study also found that 14 of the dead troops (or 14.3 percent) have Hispanic surnames and may consider themselves to be Hispanic. Fewer than 8 percent of all military personnel are Hispanic, according to the Defense Department. However, military experts warn that this is a difficult statistic to prove unofficially since ethnicity is self-defined.
For example, Mexican-born Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez del Solar of Escondido, Calif., who died March 30 when the First Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion encountered enemy fire, is officially Hispanic only if he identified himself on military records as Hispanic.
It seems likely, however, that fatalities among black and Latino troops will hit new highs in the second Iraqi war since both groups experienced steadily increasing percentages of combat-related deaths in recent wars.
Very few blacks and Hispanics were assigned to front-line combat units during World War II. According to a study released by the Pentagon's Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, blacks accounted for 8.4 percent of all military deaths during the Korean War.
"Korea was the war during which we racially integrated the military and so African American casualties started to increase," Segal said. "They actually approached parity (with population percent) during the Vietnam War."
The Pentagon estimates that 12.4 percent of the combat deaths in Vietnam were among blacks, almost exactly the percentage of blacks in the American population. In the 1991 Persian Gulf War blacks accounted for 17.3 percent of fatalities.
Hispanic casualties, although difficult to calculate exactly, also appear to be rising. Soldiers who identified themselves either as Hispanic or partially Hispanic represented 2.4 percent of deaths in Korea, 0.6 percent in Vietnam and 4.1 percent during the first Persian Gulf War.
We forgot to drop the leaflets that told the Iraqi troops that in order to curry favor with the PC crowd, they had to choose their targets according to the quota system. We should have demanded affirmative action from the Iraqi killers.
Actually, when reexamined, maybe the Iraqis got it right. If the U of M can award extra points for skin color, then maybe the Iraqis can, too. White people killed should count double. Then the quotas might break perfectly.
For a long time, I've been listing my race as "human" on just about any form I get my hands on. I've also considered what you suggest. Tell them to prove otherwise. It would make an interesting court case.
100 percent of the fatalities among U.S. troops in the current war in Iraq are American heroes who died selflessly to free Iraq and protect Americans.
They deserve our gratitude and respect.
I hate to take up space with this, but maybe it should be included, especially because it lists the circumstances of the deaths.
http://www.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/casualties_names.htm [snip]
DEATHS:
April 7:
Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid, 27, Malden, Ill., grenade attack
April 5:
Army Spc. Larry K. Brown, 22, of Jackson, Miss., combat
April 4:
Army Capt. Tristan N. Aitken, 31, State College, Pa., combat
Army Pfc. Wilfred D. Bellard, 20, Lake Charles, La., vehicle fell into ravine
Army Spc. Daniel Francis J. Cunningham, 33, Lewiston, Maine, vehicle fell into ravine
Marine Capt. Travis Ford, 30, Oceanside, Calif., helicopter crash
Marine Cp. Bernard G. Gooden, 22, Mount Vernon, N.Y., combat
Army Pvt. Devon D. Jones, 19, San Diego, vehicle fell into ravine
Marine 1st Lt. Brian M. McPhillips, 25, Pembroke, Mass., combat
Marine Sgt. Duane R. Rios, 25, Hammond, Ind., combat.
Marine Capt. Benjamin Sammis, 29, Rehoboth, Mass., helicopter crash
Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, 33, of Tampa, Fla., combat
April 3:
Marine Pfc. Chad E. Bales, 20, Coahoma, Texas, non-hostile accident
Army Sgt. Wilbert Davis, 40, Hinesville, Ga., vehicle accident
Marine Cpl. Mark A. Evnin, 21, South Burlington, Vt., combat
Army Capt. Edward J. Korn, 31, Savannah, Ga., combat
Army Staff Sgt. Nino D. Livaudais, 23, Ogden, Utah, combat
Army Spc. Ryan P. Long, 21, Seaford, Del., combat
Army Spc. Donald S. Oaks Jr., 20, Harborcreek, Pa., combat
Army Sgt. 1st Class Randy Rehn, 36, Longmont, Colo., combat
Army Capt. Russell B. Rippetoe, 27, Arvada, Colo., combat
Army Sgt. Todd J. Robbins, 33, Hart, Mich., combat
Marine Cpl. Erik H. Silva, 22, Chula Vista, Calif., combat
April 2:
Army Capt. James F. Adamouski, 29, Springfield, Va., helicopter crash
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian E. Anderson, 26, Durham, N.C., non-hostile accident
Army Spc. Mathew Boule, 22, Dracut, Mass., helicopter crash
Army Master Sgt. George A. Fernandez, 36, El Paso, Texas
Marine Pfc. Christian D. Gurtner, 19, Ohio City, Ohio, non-combat weapons discharge
Army Chief Warrant Officer Erik A. Halvorsen, 40, Bennington, Vt., helicopter crash.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Jamar, 32, Granbury, Texas, helicopter crash
Army Sgt. Michael Pedersen, 26, Flint, Mich., helicopter crash
Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith, 42, Rochester, N.Y., helicopter crash
April 1:
Army Sgt. Jacob L. Butler, 24, Wellsville, Kan., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Maglione, 22, Lansdale, Pa., non-combat weapon discharge
March 31:
Army Spc. Brandon Rowe, 20, Roscoe, Ill., combat
Army Spc. William A. Jeffries, 39, Evansville, Ind., illness
March 30:
Marine Capt. Aaron J. Contreras, 31, Sherwood, Ore., helicopter crash
Marine Sgt. Michael V. Lalush, 23, Troutville, Va., helicopter crash
Marine Sgt. Brian McGinnis, 23, St. Georges, Del., helicopter crash
March 29:
Marine Staff Sgt. James Cawley, 41, Layton, Utah, combat
Army Cpl. Michael Curtin, 23, Howell, N.J., suicide attack
Army Pfc. Diego Fernando Rincon, 19, Conyers, Ga., suicide attack
Army Pfc. Michael Russell Creighton Weldon, 20, Palm Bay, Fla., suicide attack
Marine Lance Cpl. William W. White, 24, New York, vehicle accident
Army Sgt. Eugene Williams, 24, Highland, N.Y, suicide attack
March 28:
Army Sgt. Roderic A. Solomon , 32, Fayetteville, N.C., vehicle accident
March 27:
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa, 33, Tracy, Calif., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus A. Suarez Del Solar, 20, Escondido, Calif., combat
March 26:
Marine Maj. Kevin G. Nave, 36, White Lake Township, Mich., vehicle accident
March 25:
Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Michael Vann Johnson Jr., 25, Little Rock, Ark., combat
Marine Pfc. Francisco A. Martinez Flores, 21, Los Angeles, combat
Marine Staff Sgt. Donald C. May, Jr., 31, Richmond, Va., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick T. O'Day, 20, Santa Rosa, Calif., combat
Marine Cpl. Robert M. Rodriguez, 21, New York, combat
Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, Boise, Idaho, grenade attack
March 24:
Marine Cpl. Evan James, 20, La Harpe, Ill., drowned in canal
Marine Sgt. Bradley S. Korthaus, 29, Davenport, Iowa, drowned in canal
Army Spc. Gregory P. Sanders, 19, Hobart, Ind., combat
March 23:
Army Spc. Jamaal R. Addison, 22, Roswell, Ga., combat
Marine Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, Ventura, Calif., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Cedar Key, Fla., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. David K. Fribley, 26, Fort Myers, Fla., combat
Marine Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, Costa Mesa, Calif., combat
Marine Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, Los Angeles, combat
Army Pfc. Howard Johnson II, 21, Mobile, Ala., combat
Marine Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, Enfield, Conn., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick R. Nixon, 21, Gallatin, Tenn., combat
Marine 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., 31, Tonopah, Nev., combat
Marine Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Slocum, 22, Thornton, Colo., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, 31, Yuma, Ariz.
March 22:
Navy Lt. Thomas Mullen Adams, 27, La Mesa, Calif., helicopter collision
Marine Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, 26, Buffalo, N.Y., machine gun accident
Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, Easton, Pa., grenade attack
Army Reserve Spc. Brandon S. Tobler, 19, Portland, Ore., vehicle accident
March 21:
Marine Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, 36, Waterville, Maine, helicopter crash
Marine Capt. Ryan Anthony Beaupre, 30, St. Anne, Ill., helicopter crash
Marine 2nd Lt. Therrel S. Childers, 30, Harrison County, Miss., combat
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 28, Los Angeles, combat
Marine Cpl. Brian Matthew Kennedy, 25, Houston, helicopter crash
Marine Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Waters-Bey, 29, Baltimore, helicopter crash
Date not given:
Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair, 24, Broken Arrow, Okla., combat
Army Sgt. Stevon Booker, 34, Apollo, Pa.
Marine Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, Smithville, Mo., vehicle accident
Army Spc. James Kiehl, 22, Comfort, Texas, combat
Army Sgt. George Edward Buggs, 31, Barnwell, S.C., combat
Army Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, Cleveland, combat
Army Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, El Paso, Texas, combat
Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, Pecos, Texas, combat
Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 22, Tuba City, Ariz., combat
Army Pvt. Brandon Sloan, 19, Bedford Heights, Ohio, combat
Army Sgt. Donald Walters, 33, Kansas City, Mo., combat
Alternative headline: 80% killed were white! Will we now have quotes in the military instead of the best person for the job? I agree with a previous post that if the media would stop breaking things down as to race and quit giving every crackpot that opens their mouth media time a lot of the racial tension would disappear. Who cares what the race was? They were Americans!!
"The Pentagon estimates that 12.4 percent of the combat deaths in Vietnam were among blacks, almost exactly the percentage of blacks in the American population."
In trying to make his point that this war is racist, the author disproves the liberal lie that a higher percentage of black servicemen were killed in Vietnam.
Another aniti-American liberal rant.
It's the poor, underpriviledged, underrepresented minorities who do the fighting and dying for this country. They are too stupid to resist the blandishments of the military recruiters and advertising. They have no other hope of improving their life. Guess the poor and downtrodden can thank their public schools for failing to give them other options.
We should be taking pride in the men and women who protect our freedoms. Today's volunteers are better educated and motivated. OOHRAH.
Oh, come on, guys. The best way to destroy this argument is with mathematics. Out of 250,000 combat troops, 100 have died. That is too small a statistical sample to mean anything. And 60 or so were non-combat related -- mostly vehicle accidents. That reduces the sample even further. This is just laughable, except for what one poster already said: Color blindness doesn't pay. It's a scam.