Great piece in the Times this morning you shouldn't miss. And don't forget to click on the slideshow.
They were picked because they tested well and looked like quintessential Marines: at least six feet tall, with straight posture and narrow waists. Lamont Pittman says he was told that in his case, an additional consideration was that they needed a black man. . . . Typically, a Marine selected for the honor guard served for two years before moving to another assignment, but Mr. Pittman spent his entire four-year tour in Washington. He was told they could not find another black man to replace him. “It stopped them from sending me to Vietnam,” he said. “Racial prejudice saved my life.”
They were picked because they tested well and looked like quintessential Marines: at least six feet tall, with straight posture and narrow waists. Lamont Pittman says he was told that in his case, an additional consideration was that they needed a black man. . . . Typically, a Marine selected for the honor guard served for two years before moving to another assignment, but Mr. Pittman spent his entire four-year tour in Washington. He was told they could not find another black man to replace him. “It stopped them from sending me to Vietnam,” he said. “Racial prejudice saved my life.”
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