"Pentagon Disputes Kennedy on Negro Paratroopers."
New York Times, May 15, 1968, p. 20.
The Pentagon was quick to correct a statment made by Senator Robert F. Kennedy about the
percentage of African-Americans serving as paratroopers in Vietnam. Robert F. Kennedy stated,
"If you look at any regiment or division of paratroopers in Vietnam, 45% of them are
black." The Pentagon said there were no paratroop regiments in Vietnam and that the
highest percentages were 17% and 16.8% for the 173rd and 101st Airborne divisions
respectively. The Defense Department also noted that the paratroopers consisted entirely
of volunteers.
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