[5] The riot finally came to an end around 7 o'clock in the morning. He married, and when he had a family to support, he left school in favor of getting a full-time job as a truck driver. Numerous studies have found higher rates of unemployment, homelessness, substance abuse and suicide among veterans with bad paper. American troops going to Vietnam. The racial tensions that led to violent demonstrations around the country in the summer of 1967 spread to the city's. Despite these findings, there would be little accountability among leaders for the racial injustices that were festering within the ranks. When he returned to the scene, he Some of the rioters danced traditional folk dances as the riot continued around them; others passed through the gate into the Air Force Base, overturning and torching cars, breaking windows, and destroying property. The occupation was Police used tear gas. At Misato, about 2,600 Okina wans participated in a demon stration yesterday demanding immediate and complete re moval of United States nerve gas stored on the Pacific island. harder. The ships radio station the loudspeaker system Jenkins played music on in the evenings was one of the few sources of entertainment, and now even that became a point of contention. Jenkins had wanted to join the Corps since he was very young, and studied its history before joining at age 17. cars toward the guards and setting three buildings on fire, The consequences of less than fully honorable discharges are lifelong. They were part of a quick-reaction force that could be put ashore anywhere along the coast to fight the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army should the need arise. U.S. Marine Corps air station is still there. In interviews with The Times, a half-dozen sailors and Marines who were on the Sumter recalled these fights some started by whites, others by Blacks. Buffalo, N.Y., June 27, 28 and 29About 100 were injured, 200 arrested,damage was estimated at $250,000 in three nights of vandalism, arson and looting. The commanding officer of the Second Marine Division there called it an isolated incident, but his Army counterpart at the 82nd Airborne at nearby Fort Bragg recognized the seriousness of the problem, saying my men will not sink to the level of the Marines at Camp Lejeune. A 1971 report by the Congressional Black Caucus laid out the issues in stark relief, saying subtle racism had crippled and impaired the effectiveness of American troops and observed that the explosiveness which prevails is made more serious by the amazing fact that many of those in command positions on all levels refuse to realize that even in a relatively controlled society as the military racism can and does exist.. Jenkins in March 1972 in the barracks on base at Camp Foster, where he was stationed for one year. especially in our own world Jewish community.. Kadena airbase. Seattle, Wash., July 27Vandals set at least one fire, tossed rocks and bottles. Cleveland Heights High graduate had flunked out of Kent State Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. The commission found that in the 1967 riots, 83 people were killed and 1,800 injured, most of them African-American, and property valued at more than $100 million was damaged, looted or destroyed . Cleveland, April 16Negro youths smashed windows and looted stores in Hough area, scene of 1966 rioting. I didnt want to be Nearly 500 students arrested. Please note that it contains language that was widely used at the time, but may be considered offensive by today's standards. It began following a police raid on an unlicensed bar, known locally as a "blind pig." The U.S.S. July 26Negroes smashed windows and looted shops on Fifth Avenue. The Marines eventually dropped their charges of incitement against Holmes, and he flew to Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco in February 1973, collected his honorable-discharge paperwork and returned to Brooklyn to begin college. then Okinawans surrounded the car, rocking it. A National Guardsman stands at the ready at a Detroit intersection during the summer riots of 1967. Beginning July 26several nights of vandalism, arson, looting. Police, moving in quickly but quietly, restored order before dawn. fighting the Russians now. However, he acknowledges Japan wants Damage estimated at 2 million dollars. Wichita, Kans., May 2 and 3Negro high-school youths battled white students. That record, which he shared with The Times, details a military justice system on Okinawa rife with racial animus that disproportionately punished Black Marines, even for noncrimes like dapping, or for showing a closed-fist gesture among other Black service members. Springfield, Ohio, July 27Five persons were arrested after rock-throwing and fire-bombing. Somebody hit the switch that flipped the overhead lights from nighttime red to bright white, and everyone froze. The idea of this committee was to show that these equal-opportunity programs were fomenting racial unrest, said the Navy historian John Sherwood. After the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who had opposed the Vietnam War and the use of Black people in the conflict, a series of race riots swept dozens of American cities and racial tensions were heightened throughout American society. Okinawa was also a rest and recuperation destination, and Here, in chronological order, are cities that have been hit by violence so far in 1967, as reported by United Press International and the Associated Press: Omaha, Nebr., April 1About 200 Negro youths smashed windows, looted stores, damaged police cars; 21 arrested. Only one white Marine, Sgt. Police used a new aerosol tear-gas gun, called the Chemical Mace, and credited it with averting serious trouble. to heroin was robbing local mom-and-pop stores. National Guardsmen were called up, but not used. Tucson and Phoenix, Ariz., July 23, 24 and 26Negroes fought police two nights in Tucson, then in Phoenix. Black and white Marines alike recall that a series of fistfights throughout the deployment increased in frequency in the early days of September on Sumter. [9], Two American military police vehicles also arrived, sirens blaring. Days after Jenkins was reprimanded, larger and more intense fights among the Marines broke out. On the corner, uptown. Sumter.CreditFrom Bart Lubow. In the years that followed, his successor continued his efforts on racial equity, but over time the attention to reform petered out. First Lt. Al Vargas, the commander of the embarked infantry company, remembers being struck in his side as he dove in to help break up the melee. Rampant alcohol and drug use among Americans made the MPs task Barnwell seems to have fared even worse. Using the G.I. The rioters pulled American servicemen from their cars and beat them, then burned their cars. All United States military bases on Okinawa were put on alert. The streets of Koza were lit tered with broken bottles and with garbage that had been hurled at the American troops, he said. During the historic riot, frustrated and resentful Okinawans had NAHA, Okinawa Nightlong leftist demonstrations tore this Pacific Island capital today and forced visiting Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato to take refuge in a U.S. military camp. combat-fatigued GIs arrived straight from the jungles of Vietnam. The Koza riot (, Koza bd) was a violent and spontaneous protest against the US military presence in Okinawa, which occurred on the night of December 20, 1970, into the morning of the following day. Estimates of property damage range from 250 to 500 million dollars. In the summer of 1967, simmering tensions between the police and the black community in Detroit, Michigan exploded into five chaotic days of . Houston, Tex., May 17One policeman killed, four persons were rounded in rioting on Negro-college campus. And when they talked back, they were formally punished. Atlanta, Ga., June 17 through 20Four days of disorder followed arrest of Stokely Carmichael. the riot was justified. Nine arrested. Birmingham, Ala., July 23National Guardsmen helped police quell rioting; 11 hurt, more than 70 arrested. A Marine officer assured the ships leaders that the troublemakers, the oldest of whom was 22 years old, would face discipline elsewhere. [Sign up for the weekly At War newsletter to receive stories about duty, conflict and consequence.]. About 15 years ago, he joined a local V.F.W. Minor incidents that night had created a feeling of tension between blacks and whites, particularly when a black male Marine attempted to cut into a white male Marine dancing with a black female Marine. One killed, several injured. [1] It was subsequently investigated by the military[3] and led to widespread changes in military race relations and policy.[4]. 20% of black males were combat soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, while the percentage of Whites in combat roles was lower. After 3 months at Officer Candidate School in San Antonio, TX and a year studying Meteorology at Texas A&M University I received my first assignment to Naha Air Base on Okinawa as a weather forecaster. Sherwood notes that Hbert was part of a broad coalition of Southern segregationists in Congress two of whom, Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia and Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi, the Navy later named aircraft carriers for that had a great deal of influence on the Navy, and by extension, the Marine Corps, in the pre-Zumwalt era. May 15Negroes looted downtown jewelry store. Jenkins, Barnwell and Blackwell, who spent months in the brig in Okinawa, became known as the Sumter Three in the Black and underground G.I. Okinawa was a beautiful place, For members of Congress like Hbert, Vinson and Stennis, the civil rights movement was an existential threat to the established order. flipping American cars upside down and setting vehicles on fire. Providence, R.I., July 31 and Aug. 1Riot squads battled snipers and routed rival gangs of whites and Negroes in two days of violence; 23 hurt, 14 arrested. Bricks and bottles hit Lieber on the head and the arm. Pfc. Nearly 700 whites and Negroes were arrested in weeks of repeated disorders. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. An investigation by the director of naval intelligence mentioned racial incidents between whites and Blacks during Sumters port visit there, where fistfights in the streets and bars were not unusual. It was denied, further inflaming interactions between the men on board. Prattville, Ala., June 11national guard sent in after Negro gunman battled police following the arrest of Stokely Carmichael. Alexander Jenkins Jr., a 19-year-old from Newport News, Va., whose outgoing personality had earned him a turn as the ships D.J. During the 1970 Koza riot, ex-MP Bruce Lieber helped contain 40th anniversary of the riot. NAHA, Okinawa, Sunday, Dec. 20 (AP)Some 2,000 Oki nawans hurled gasoline bombs, empty bottles and stones at United States military person nel and Okinawan policemen and damaged 60 American vehicles today at Koza outside Kadena Air Force Base. While the Summer of Love swept through San Francisco 50 years ago this summer, scores of inner-city neighborhoods across the country burned with rage. Waukegan, Ill., July 24 and 25Police rushed in from neighboring cities to help quell two days of vandalism. But several thousand angry Okinawans continued to rampage, Roy L. Barnwell (far right) with other Black Marines on the U.S.S. Kadena Air Force Base. Incidents like what happened on the Sumter were not uncommon on military bases around the world in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In Jersey City, violence ended quickly after mayor took a tough stand. During the summer of 1967, 158 riots erupted in urban communities across America. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. The experience so shook Jenkins that he sold the rifle for almost half of what he paid, just to get it out of his house. Two Negroes killed; $60,000 damage. Jenkins kept playing the newest records and tapes he could find by Black artists, many of which reflected the antiwar and Black-liberation movements happening at home, alongside country and western albums and hits by the Beatles. Being that races are different in certain aspects, and music being one, it read, then the proper officials must make way as to the satisfaction of each and every race regardless of minority. The Marines then submitted a request for a formal meeting with their battalion commander, who was located on another ship nearby. With Schaap and Sorensen pushing for exoneration and the Marine Corps not eager for more bad publicity, the prosecutor eventually felt pressured to resolve the case. But she only learned that from him much later: When he returned from Okinawa, he didnt contact his family for more than 25 years. anything.. immediately upon impact, turning back the rioters. Okinawa was a staging area for Bombs caused 23 fires. Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, the Navys top admiral, ordered an investigation into racial strife. Back on the ship, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. You have to know what to do and what not to do. Jenkins set out on the straight and narrow, opting out of joints passed around at parties and being meticulous about observing traffic laws. As the rioters widened their uprising, one group headed to the prosecuted and found not guilty; the injustice rankled the local Sumter steamed off the coast of Vietnam with more than 150 Marines from a hodgepodge of different units. House Committee on Armed Forces.
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