TED LUMPKIN, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN
It was called the Great War and in the United States this bloody conflict was a catalyst for some citizens to elevate their status. World War II galvanized the American public to fight for freedom in Europe and defend themselves against an attack on U.S. soil from the Japanese. These patriotic men and women included African Americans. Ted Lumpkin was one of those men.
TIMOTHY BLUITT, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN
photo by Majesty Jordan
Timothy’s father told him he had done all he could do for him. At 18, Timothy should leave the family and go out on his own.
One day, as Timothy walked down the street in his hometown of Dallas, he noticed several recruiting centers.
“So I looked at the Navy,” he says. “I looked at the Army and the Air Force and then I saw this Marine with this white hat on and these blue pants with a red stripe down the side. I said, ‘I want one of those.’”
Timothy was mesmerized by the young man who sat behind the desk. He looked sharp. He possessed authority.
“I saw him sitting behind the desk,” he says. “Broad shoulders, polished brass, and his buckle Marine emblem. So I looked at him and I said, ‘If I join the Marines will I get one of those uniforms?’ He said, “Yeah, you’ll get one.”
The recruiter peppered Timothy with questions. Did he have friends that wanted to join? That would make boot camp easier for him. When does he graduate? He would have to take this test and that test —but don’t worry! He would get everything processed. What does he want the Marine Corps to do for him?
“I want to travel and I want an education,” Timothy told the man. “I want a four-year education.”
The recruiter told him that if signed up four years, the Marines would pay for four years of his education.
“When I got to boot camp, I’m with guys who signed up for two years,” he says. “But they are still getting a four-year education. Recruiters are like used car salesmen.”
The Vietnam War raged in Southeast Asia while Americans watched the conflict on their television sets every night. An estimated 2 million Vietnamese people died as the body bags of fallen soldiers piled up in the U.S. It was a confusing war for the soldiers in combat and an unpopular war for the folks back home.
“I was in the Marines from 1966 to 1970 and stationed in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968,” Timothy says. “I did a 13-month tour of duty there. I was 19 years old.”
Timothy met his long-time friend Rufus in Vietnam. He also experienced troubling situations —but not from the enemy.
Timothy went to a village where there were no men. Just boys, old men and women. That meant one thing: The young men were out fighting the Americans.
There was another Marine in Timothy’s troop that used this opportunity to assert himself. He made his annoyance known that no one in the village spoke English. He began to shout derogatory words at the villagers as he wielded his weapon.
“This young woman looked like she was about 19 or 20,” Timothy says. “He took his hand and stuck it down the back of her black pajama trousers and grabbed her buttocks and said she’s got a fat ass on her … When she started crying, he took the hand from there and started fondling her breasts and said she’s got nice boobs on her also.”
At that moment, Timothy says he realized his fellow officer was determined to dehumanize the people in the village. He wanted to let them know he could do anything. He was in charge.
“These people are crying, petrified,” Timothy says. “Old people down on their knees begging, and these two ignorant assholes were just laughing. And I’m saying don’t do this, we are better than this, this isn’t who we are.
And I’m feeling guilty because I’m wearing the same uniform they are wearing. At that moment, I realized I was an activist.”