In the 1960s, America was fighting two wars at once: one in Vietnam and another at home over civil rights.
Acclaimed journalist and author Wil Haygood grew up watching both unfold. Young men from his Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood disappeared into the war in Vietnam while, at home, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the unrest that followed brought the struggle for racial equality directly to his streets.
In Part 1 of this three-part series, Wil joins us to explore the story behind his book, The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home — and why the histories of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement cannot truly be understood separately.
We also meet two Black veterans whose lives illustrate that intersection.
George Forrest grew up in segregated Maryland, attended Morgan State University and became an Army officer at a time when Black officers were still routinely confronted with discrimination. In 1963, while stationed with the Old Guard at Fort Myer, he found himself on alert for possible civil unrest during the March on Washington — unaware that his own parents were among the marchers.
Dorothy “Dottie” Harris knew from childhood that she wanted to become a nurse. After serving in the Navy and completing nursing school, she joined the Army and volunteered for Vietnam, where she would eventually care for some of the war’s most severely wounded.
Their stories reveal the complicated meaning of military service for Black Americans during this era — a source of opportunity, responsibility and belonging, but also an institution that reflected many of the inequalities of the country they were serving.
Wil also examines the draft, Project 100,000, and the disproportionate burden placed on Black and poor Americans as the United States searched for more men to send to Vietnam.
This is Part 1 of The War Within a War. In Part 2, George Forrest goes into combat in one of the war’s deadliest battles, Dottie Harris confronts the human cost of the war from a field hospital, and Wil Haygood explores how Black and white service members depended on one another for survival in Vietnam.
Featured in this episode:
Wil Haygood — journalist and author of The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home
George Forrest — U.S. Army veteran
Dorothy “Dottie” Harris — U.S. Army nurse and Vietnam veteran
Learn more:
Visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at vvmf.org
Connect with VVMF:
Facebook: facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
Instagram: instagram.com/vnveteransmemorial
YouTube: youtube.com/@VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
