ABSTRACT
Both Vietnamese and Americans were doubtless misled by the promises of real peace at the conclusion of an agreement in Paris, but there was no greater deception than the repeated pledges of victory at the outset of direct American involvement in the war in 1965. Perhaps no single group of Americans was more grossly deceived than the black GIs, to whom military service initially provided an opportunity, a hope for escape from slights and slurs encountered in civilian life. My first assignment in Vietnam, in September 1965, was to interview black GIs for a magazine article—a project that compelled me to visit major American bases soon after their first occupants had arrived.
