While a large number of blacks currently serve in the U.S. military, only 11% or 163 men and women in uniform have died in Iraq.
BlackAmericaWeb.com has the story:
Though blacks make up about 30 percent of the military, the percentage of deaths has been less because of their job placement, said David Segal, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization.
"Blacks are attracted to military jobs that have transfer value to the civilian economy when they leave the military. Enlisting in the infantry doesn't do that for you," Segal told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
"Historically, blacks have been over represented in the military, but not in the combat arms," Segal said. "A larger percentage of blacks work in administrative jobs, logistical services or medical fields."
Looks like some people want to stay alive, but...
Other interesting statistics included this one from Scripps-Howard:
- Blacks were more likely than other racial groups to die in Iraq from non-hostile causes, and 50 percent more likely than whites to perish from motor-vehicle accidents, weapons mishaps or from medical causes, such as heart attacks.
- African-Americans who died were slightly older than whites. The average age for blacks at death was 26.8 years compared to 26.1 for whites. Hispanics were younger still, at 25.6 years on average.
- Fallen black and Latino troops were more likely than whites to be married and to have children.
The article illustrated the first stat by referring to a young black woman soldier who had given birth two months before and died in a car crash in Iraq when her supply truck unaccountably flipped over. Did the vehicle fail or did it miss maintenance, or were the tires shot at or blown up? The mishap, though, is still under pending investigation.
What is worse is the following:
Some of those who fight in Iraq return to the states after their tour of duty only to find themselves facing homelessness or health problems, said Rickey Singh, program director for a veterans service center in New York City.
[...]"One out of six will return with post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental illness."
He said his office has worked with 25 to 30 veterans who were deployed to Iraq, but have had no stable housing since their return.
Man, whatever happened to the GI Bill and all those alphabet programs and agencies that helped vets get back on their feet after they returned from WW II, Korea and from even Vietnam? Disappeared. Nonexistent. They exist in the past. Unfortunately, the past is not the present. And the rosy promises that are made by today's recruiters still remain unfulfilled.
Some of them went into the military because they saw it as a way to get the American dream. They want a house. They want to go to college," said Singh. "When they return, they find that nothing changed with their home situation. Their parents may still be poor, and their bed may now be occupied by grandchildren."
And affordable housing is still a problem everywhere, especially in large urban areas where many of the black poor are being progressively chased out by high rents and gentrification. Catch 22.