The racial makeup of A Battery was about equal parts white, black and Hispanic with an occasional Native American. Relations between groups changed as time passed. Civil rights demonstrations in America were about black rights. I do not remember any for Latino rights. Our 1st Sergeant Jones was black and Chief of Firing Battery Jorge Martinez was Hispanic. All our officers were white. We had an all-Hispanic gun crew at one time.

One member of our battery was homosexual and open about it. He was one of the most courageous men in our unit and earned several medals for bravery under fire. No one called him derogatory names to his face!