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Saturday, Dec. 01, 2007

Black GI's: Red, white and blue the colors that count

An 8-by-10 photograph of Army Pfc. Brandon Ingram Fisher holds court below the doorbell chime at the home of his parents, Tim and Robin Fisher.

His mahogany complexion appears as chiseled as a recruiting poster -- his expression stoic, brown, almond-shaped eyes piercing with bayonet-sharp determination.

The Fishers keep his picture there to remind them of the joyous day when that doorbell will ring. They will open the front door to reveal their son standing tall at 5-foot-10 in his crisp green uniform. And his familiar grin will serve as a testament to a single fact -- at last, he has made it safely back home.

Still, the doorbell ring and the foreboding knock-at-the-door are sounds they have also come to fear. They know their son is based in a place where gunfire, bombs and death are as common as the Michael Jordan and Larry Bird posters that once decorated his bedroom wall.

"I don't like looking at the news that much because of the things you hear about every day -- the bombings, trucks exploding and killings," Robin admits. "You never know when that time is going to come, that someone is going to knock at the door (because something has happened to) your family member. I worry about that a lot."

The story of Brandon Ingram Fisher is a snapshot in the long historical continuum of black men and women who have answered the call to protect a nation, one whose shores their ancestors first arrived in shackles and chains.

Despite that history, ever since the death of Crispus Attucks -- who on March 5, 1770, was the first person to die in the American Revolution -- blacks have played a dynamic and important role in nearly every war the U.S. has fought. From the American Revolution to the legendary Buffalo Soldiers of the frontier to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, blacks in the American military have given their lives to defend an ideal that is at the core of the American dream, but was not always within arm's reach: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Historical record aside, serving during a time of war means extended periods away from families and friends back home, which also takes a toll. While families wait for their loved ones at home, many blacks raise sobering questions about the war, particularly as their sons and daughters return to Iraq for second and third tours of duty.

In Merced, there are many black families whose sons, daughters, fathers and mothers are serving in Iraq. The following is a story about two of those families, the Fishers and the Ameys, and how they are coping as their sons fight overseas in a seemingly endless war.

These black Mercedians are threads in the rich military tapestry woven over centuries by black Americans, who make up about 13.8 percent of the U.S. population. Blacks have always played a major role on the battlefield. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are no different.

According to the Department of Defense, blacks have accounted for about 9.4 percent of the military deaths in Iraq, since the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Of the 3,840 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, 362 were black troops. The majority of those deaths were in the Army, with 310; there have been 39 black Marine deaths, seven Navy deaths and six Air Force deaths.

Thirty-five of the 454 U.S. military deaths, or 7.7 percent, in Afghanistan since combat operations began there in October 2001 have been black troops -- 27 in the Army, four Marines and four in the Navy.

In the Gulf War, blacks accounted for 66 (three of whom were women) of the 372 deaths, 17.7 percent.

Contradicting a long-held popular notion that blacks in the Vietnam War died far out of proportion to their numbers in the U.S. population, they constituted 12.4 percent of military deaths, accounting for 7,241 of the 58,198 total deaths. (Blacks accounted for 11.1 percent of the U.S. population in 1970.) In the Korean War, blacks totaled 8.4 percent of military deaths, accounting for 3,075 of 36,572 killed in action.

Blacks in the military: A long-standing relationship

Even though blacks have a history of participating in America's wars, that doesn't mean all blacks on the home front agree with the war in Iraq.

According to statistics cited by the New York Times in August, a CBS News telephone poll indicated that 83 percent of the blacks surveyed said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, while only 14 percent said military action was warranted. Whites, by contrast, were closely divided, with 48 percent indicating that military action was warranted, while 46 percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.

Some political commentators credit the unpopularity of the war in the black community as a main reason why the military has seen a drop in black recruits in recent years. According to the Department of Defense statistics cited by the Boston Globe, the number of black recruits has dropped by 58 percent since 2000. That year, more than 42,000 blacks applied to enlist in the Army, compared to just over 17,000 in 2005.

While blacks, particularly those from poorer areas, have historically viewed the military as a vehicle to achieve opportunities and pay for higher education and other benefits, experts say the sudden drop in black enlistees is due to several factors.

Although the unpopularity of the war probably has affected recruitment numbers, Ron Walters, director of the University of Maryland's African American Leadership Center, said more blacks are taking advantage of jobs and opportunities outside the military. For example, since the Vietnam War, the number of blacks enrolled in college and universities has increased nearly five times, Walters said. "You had a draft going in (Vietnam) and this is an all-volunteer Army, which is a big difference. And the draft itself swept up a lot of these people," Walters said.

Still, recent events, such as the widely criticized U.S. government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which left thousands of blacks homeless throughout the Gulf Coast region, hasn't helped change the negative view that some blacks hold toward the government.

Walters said the cynicism some blacks express about the war in Iraq also stems from the historic contradiction of black identity in America -- a feeling of being a second-class citizen because of race, yet being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield.

"The thought has always been that one of the ways that African-Americans could prove they were full citizens was to involve themselves in the country's wars, to defend the country -- and that would be the ultimate mark of citizenship," Walters said. "That has not turned out to be the case, and so you've had fairly significant opposition the the United States getting involved in any other wars. It has not lessened what black people feel about the existence of racism in American society."

Retired Navy Cmdr. Gregory Black, who served for 21 years as a Navy deep-sea diver, said fewer blacks may be enlisting because of misconceptions some harbor about the military, as well as being unaware of the opportunities the military can offer. While fewer blacks may be enlisting to serve in combat roles, he mentioned that more blacks today are serving in administrative, non-combat roles than before.

Black recently started a Web site, BlackMilitaryWorld.com, which serves as a networking site for blacks in the military, including those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I think a lot of the perception is that if you join the military, then you stand a very strong chance of dying in Iraq. And I think that is mostly due to miseducation," Black said. "There are close to a half-million African- Americans that are employed by the Department of Defense. Out of that half-million African Americans, in five years of the Iraq War we have lost (362), so it's not that everybody who joins the military dies in Iraq."

Whatever their feelings about the war in Iraq, blacks continue to sign up for military service, knowing that the possibility of combat service looms. Lydia Scott, a 19-year-old Merced resident, recently enlisted in the Army Reserves. She said wearing an Army uniform is something she has looked forward to since high school. She also vowed to fight in the war without hesitation. "I like action, basically. I am willing to go," said Scott, who also works as a security attendant with the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

Scott did not join the Reserves, however, without resistance from her mother, Carolyn Castillo. For Castillo, 46, her daughter joining the military brought back memories of the death of her brother, Leonard Strong, who died during a training accident in the Army during the Vietnam War era. Castillo said although she will always be there for her daughter, she does not support her decision.

Even today, the death of Castillo's brother is tough for her to talk about. She also has another brother, 40-year-old Army Sgt. Maj. Patrick Strong, who's serving in Iraq. She said it was hard for her mother to lose her first son -- and she does not want to repeat the experience. "I worry about everyone who is fighting in the war," Castillo said. "I worry about (Lydia) all the time and my brother."

From customer service to bomb removal: Brandon Ingram Fisher

Of the options available to an intelligent, 21-year-old black man from a stable household, joining the Army while a war was being waged would not seem the obvious choice.

At least that is what was going through Tim Fisher's mind when his son, Brandon, took him to lunch at Carl's Jr. one afternoon in October 2005. That day Brandon informed his dad of the decision that was about to change both of their lives. He had decided to join the Army.

Looking back, Tim, a maintenance worker for Weaver Union Elementary School District, admits he was apprehensive about his son's decision -- and he had ample reason to be concerned. It wasn't long ago when Tim's 37-year-old younger brother, Edward, had joined the Army and fought during Desert Storm, only to return home with a case of Gulf War syndrome -- a disease with a wide range of symptoms that affects hundreds or Gulf War veterans.

Still, Tim remained calm and decided to hear his son out. "I really just wanted to sit him down and see how he felt about it, to make sure he was aware that we're in the middle of a full-scale war here," Tim recalled.

It soon became clear to Tim and his wife, Robin, however, that their son had his heart set on the military, so they agreed to support his decision. At the time, the Golden Valley High School graduate was working as a customer service representative at Cingular Wireless in Merced and living at home with his parents. Facing sparse opportunities for living-wage jobs in Merced, Tim said, only accelerated to his son's desire to enlist.

Brandon was also seeking a sense of adventure that a day job in a small town like Merced could not provide. "He was looking for something with more stability, higher-paying, and he wanted to see the world," Tim explained.

"He really didn't say anything about the war," Robin said. "He just decided that was what he wanted to do."

Two years later, Brandon is entering his third month in Baghdad, serving with the vaunted 101st Airborne Division as an improvised explosive device and bomb-removal specialist. Before his assignment in Iraq, Brandon was stationed for several months in Syria. He was also married briefly to his high school sweetheart while stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., although he divorced before leaving for Iraq.

Tim and Robin said Brandon seems upbeat when he talks to his family on the phone and via e-mail. He also seemed excited about the prospect of serving in Iraq, despite the daily casualty reports in the media. "We really haven't had a chance to really talk in depth because, when they do talk, they are limited as to the things they can say, such as what they have seen or where they are," Tim said.

"When we talk to Brandon, it's like the sun is shining directly on us," Robin added.

Before his son enlisted, he and Tim enjoyed working on cars together in the garage, including an '85 Chevy Camaro. Brandon is also an avid basketball player and played in a local city league before he signed up. And staying true to his adventurous spirit, Brandon and his family would make frequent camping trips.

Brandon and his uncle Edward are not the only members of his family to have served in the military. His grandfather Henry Fisher served as a submariner in the Navy.

Although Tim fully supports his son's decision to serve in the Army, he is worried for his safety -- to the point where he would trade places with his son in a heartbeat. He also hopes that the U.S. is in Iraq for the right reasons. "If it's to root out and weed out terrorists, then I am in 110 percent. But if we are over there for any other reason than that -- money, financial gain, whatever, then I do really have a problem with it," Tim said. "But I do support our troops in what they are doing."

Taking his concerns a step further, Tim has completed the rough draft of a letter to President Bush, expressing his desire to swap roles with his son in Iraq. Ironically, Tim's father wrote a similar letter to President George Bush Sr. during Desert Storm, offering to take his son Edward's place in Kuwait. Tim understands that having Bush grant his request would be "slim next to none," but he believes the symbolic value of a letter would be compelling.

"I think it sends the message that there are fathers who would be willing to trade places with their sons in a situation like this," Tim said. "It's really hard to describe when you have a child that is in harm's way. I really don't think there's a word or a phrase you can use to describe how you feel inside."

The Fishers' strong Christian faith helps them cope with Brandon's absence. Earlier this month, they feared their worst nightmare had come true after hearing a television announcement about a soldier from Brandon's regiment who was killed in action. They were relieved to learn later that Brandon was still alive.

"We have pretty much laid all of our worries in the hands of God," Tim said. "We still worry. Every time we turn the television on and the news says, 'Four soldiers lost their lives in Baghdad,' (Robin) gets real quiet. Because you don't know who it is."

A local warrior: Dwight Amey Jr.

Army Staff Sgt. Dwight Amey Jr.'s accomplishments in the military speak for themselves.

During his 16 years of active military service, the 38-year-old Merced native has served during four conflicts and in two branches of the military. He began his service with the Air Force to take advantage of the GI Bill during the early 1990s, serving in Desert Storm in Kuwait and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. Then he entered the Army in 1994 and supported peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Amey is now serving his third tour of duty in Iraq since 2003, stationed in Diala Province. He is scheduled to serve in western Iraq for at least 15 months with an armored squadron in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. When he's not deployed, Amey, the third-oldest in a family of three brothers and one sister, is also working on a master's degree in criminology.

"We have a motto in the military. We are not black or white, brown or yellow. We are green," said Amey Jr. in an e-mail. "One team united together to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."

Leadership seems to run through his veins. Standing 6 feet tall, Amey looks very much like a younger version of his father, Dwight Amey Sr., bishop of New Faith Tabernacle in South Merced. The elder Amey is well-known as a Merced civil rights activist and former city councilman who led a successful campaign for the renaming of J Street into Martin Luther King Jr. Way during the early 1990s. "My dad has raised me to be a very strong person. He has been a great influence in my life," Amey Jr. related. His mother, Gwen, is a nationally recognized gospel vocalist and co-pastor of New Faith Tabernacle.

Dwight Amey Jr. communicated with the Sun-Star via e-mail, before his latest deployment to Iraq. He said the hardest part of being stationed in Iraq is having "to live day to day" without his wife, Ruby, and 13-year-old daughter, Michelle. Amey admits the war has changed his relationship with his wife and the way he views life.

"Time is very precious. I feel lucky to be around when they need me most," Amey explained. "I am gone so much that my wife lives like a single parent. This is not right. We have been married over 18 years. My view is she deserves better. Now that the war has started, I realize exactly how much I took her for granted. Well, not anymore!"

Even in the middle of a war zone, Amey Jr.'s e-mails convey an optimistic tone, including for the future of Iraq.

"The biggest misconception about the war is that Iraqi people do not want democracy," Amey Jr. said. "Just look at the elections in 2005 and 2006. I was in the country during these historic events. Citizens went to the polls regardless of threats to their lives. They demonstrated great courage for the sake of electing their own government."

Half a world away, Gwen has witnessed how being in Iraq has affected her son's family. Whether by e-mail or phone, the couple tries to communicate as much as possible. "(Ruby) goes through withdrawals every time he leaves," Gwen said. "She always has this fear that he's not going to come back."

Like the Fishers, having a son in Iraq for the Amey family means living with constant concern for his safety -- and the fear that one day they could be informed that the worst had happened. Dwight Amey Sr. still recalls how his cousin, Alan Amey, nicknamed "Haywood," was killed while serving in Vietnam.

Amey Sr., who was drafted into the Army and served stateside during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1968, is also worried about his son's emotional well-being, as he vividly recalls how many young black men returning home from Vietnam were traumatized from the violence they had seen firsthand. As a result, some turned to drugs or alcohol as a temporary salve for their emotional pain.

And unexpected phone calls, Amey Sr. noted, only heighten his family's anxiety of "wondering if we're getting a call because our son has been shot." "When it rings, and he's over there, there's always that little thing in the pit of your stomach -- 'Lord, is something going wrong?'" Gwen said. "You just never know."

The Ameys have endured more than one false alarm. They once received news that a helicopter Amey Jr. was scheduled to fly on had crashed -- only to later find out that he was not on board when the chopper went down.

Amey Sr. said at times it feels as if the government is playing a game of Russian Roulette with his son's life. "Until he comes home and does not have to go back, I won't really relax," Amey Sr. said. "It pops up every once in a while in my mind, that something serious can happen. Losing a life, losing a leg, losing an arm. We're hoping that he'll come back and be intact and mentally be intact."

Despite the deprivations of being in Iraq, Gwen said his son is handling it well. "It's kind of like when you sign your name on the dotted line. You are no longer your boss, you belong to Uncle Sam," Gwen said. "Whatever you have to do. That's that the attitude that I get from him: 'This is something I have to do.'"

Although the Ameys both support their son in the war, they also have expressed opposition to the war itself. While Amey Sr. said he supported the war in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he believes the Iraq War bears many parallels to Vietnam. "Now we are in the same kind of war again. I thought we learned our lesson," he said.

Even with Dwight Amey Sr.'s strong feelings about the war in Iraq, he said his relationship with his son is a positive one that surpasses politics. "Just like Vietnam, we're not going to come home anytime soon, and there's going to be a whole lot of young men dying," Amey Sr. said.

Coming home

In the meantime, the Fishers and the Ameys both continue to pray for the safe return of their sons. Dwight Amey Jr. said his plan is to eventually retire from the Army, although he admits that his immediate goal is to "survive all these deployments." Once his service in Iraq is over, Amey said he will then "focus on how best to find the right lifestyle my wife wants to pursue when I am not a soldier anymore."

"I plan on enjoying the fact that I will be home with her -- without leaving in a year or so. Maybe someday after I get settled back into the civilian way of life, my wife and I will decide what will be next."

Amey Jr. also said his "emotions are very high" during this tour of duty. "I know that God is with me. I do feel close to my family and know that they will be waiting on me," he said. "My mom and aunts visited us before deploying. They want my wife and daughter to be well taken care of when I am gone. I appreciate their gestures very much."

Tim Fisher is already making plans for Brandon's two-week leave from Iraq in July next year. The entire family will celebrate his return with a trip to Las Vegas: "We're planning on reserving whatever it takes. If it's a whole entire wing of a casino, we will do that."

The last time Brandon visited his family in Merced was in July. And while Robin said she has already seen her son mature a great deal, she hopes the "quiet and sweet" side of him remains the same. "He's going to be stronger. I just don't want the military to change his inner soul," Robin said.

Until then, the Fishers look forward to the day when they will welcome their son back home -- and the ring of the doorbell will no longer be something to fear.

Reporter Victor A. Patton can be reached at 209-385-2431 or vpatton@mercedsun-star.com.