National Vietnam War Veteran's Day 3/29/23. Black soldiers were drafted, served and died in disproportionate numbers in the Vietnam War while Black people in the United States were fighting for civil rights. "Approximately 300,000 African Americans served in the Vietnam war. In 1965, African Americans filled 31% of the ground combat battalions in Vietnam, while the percentage of African Americans as a minority in the general population was 12%. In 1965, African Americans suffered 24% of the U.S. Army's fatal casualties. African Americans saw combat at a higher percentage and suffered casualties at a higher rate. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to the Vietnam War as a white man's war, a black man's fight."