In the year 1965, the United States sent troops to Vietnam to aid the South Vietnamese against the communist Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. As the fighting increased, the United States was in need of more troops in order to support its commitment to South Vietnam. Therefore, thousands of Selective Service registers were called and drafted. The United States also asked its closes ally the Philippines to help send troops to South Vietnam and in addition this, the United states requested for an increase of recruitment for the United States Navy in the region. Thus, the U.S. enlisted thousands of Philippine natives, including myself.
             My involvement started in July of 1968, when I was flown to the United States beginning my military training in San Diego. Recalling the eight weeks of hard, intensive training, I still considered myself fortunate to be enlisted in the United States Navy. Although, when I did graduate boot camp, I cherished the prize of rest and recreation for 72 hours. My short-lived vacation began with a group of my fellow Filipino recruits. We decided to catch a bus to downtown San Diego. As we boarded the bus, I stopped in confusion when I noticed a sign with "Black" written at the back section of the bus. Looking for the driver for direction, I was informed by the driver that was no longer enforced. Even with him saying this, I still sat in the middle row since my skin color fell in between black and white. As we arrived downtown, I experience culture shock. The town was colorful and filled with live entertainment. Although, I did want to spend more time exploring the place, my vacation time was up and I had to go back to the base.
             As our company gathered for the last day, we waited for our next order of job training. I was wondering why Filipino recruits and few African American were separated. Having the same order to attend SD "A" school (Steward), we are not aware tha...