10 facts about African-American military service
In honor of Black History Month, the below statistics bring to life the breadth and depth of African-American military service since World War I. Sources for the statistics include the 2016 American Community Survey, Statista, the Congressional Research Service, the National WWII Museum and the U.S. Army.
- 2.1 million: Black military veterans nationwide
- 30.2: Percent of active-duty enlisted women in 2016 who were African-American
- 17.1: Percent of active-duty enlisted men in 2016 who were African-American
- 20,000+: Black Marine Corps recruits who received training at Montford Point camp in North Carolina during World War II
- 21: African-Americans who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Vietnam War
- 7,243: Deaths of active-duty black service members in Vietnam
- 3,075: Deaths of active-duty black service members in the Korean War
- 901,896: African-Americans who served during World War II
- 24: Percent of the 500,000 U.S. military personnel deployed to the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War who were African-American
- 350,000+: Blacks who served in American Expeditionary Forces units on the Western Front in World War I