History Main / OppressedMinorityVeteran

->''"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters US, let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth or under the earth which can deny that he has earned the right of citizenship in the United States."''
-->-- '''UsefulNotes/FrederickDouglass''', being overly optimistic in an [[http://www.marx.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol07/no09/freddoug.htm 1863 speech]]

Bob, a member of a minority group, joins the military. He acquits himself well, and may even gain a reputation as a war hero. After returning to civilian life, however, Bob's minority status relegates him to second-class citizenship in his homeland, despite the risks he has taken on his country's behalf.

-->-- '''UsefulNotes/FrederickDouglass''' being overly optimistic in an [[http://www.marx.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol07/no09/freddoug.htm 1863 speech]]

TruthInTelevision, as in the cases of German-Jewish veterans in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and African-American servicemen in the pre-Civil Rights Movement United States.

Compare NoPlaceForAWarrior, for the general mistreatment of veterans in civilian life, not necessarily tied to their minority status. See also DudeWheresMyRespect.

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', during the war against the Ishvalans, members of the Amestris military with Ishvalan heritage were rounded up and imprisoned, regardless of their rank or how distinguished their record was. (And in at least some versions, then became [[UnwittingTestSubject subjects of very lethal human experimentation]].) Both the manga and the ''Brotherhood'' version of the anime have the character Major Miles, the [[NumberTwo right hand man]] of General Armstrong at the legendary Briggs fortress. Miles is a quarter Ishvalan and must hide his heritage, as he would still be subject to these orders despite the fact that the war is long over and [[OneDropRule how small a part of his heritage it is]].

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{DatedHistory}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{SurvivorsGuilt}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American (who, incidentally, was the only one on the tour who actually ''was'' in the famous photo), goes missing right before an [[PropagandaMachine appearance at a stadium]]. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting and swinging a chair at a group of policemen trying restrain him outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies "we don't serve Indians." The Navy [[{{TheMedic}} corpsman]] who served alongside the [[{{SemperFi}} 5th Marine Division]] drags away a [[TheAlcoholic furious Ira]], and tells him to forget the whole thing.

* ''Max'' is a film about Adolf Hitler right after World War One meeting Jewish veteran Max Rothman, who had [[AnArmAndALeg lost an arm due to a war wound]] and is now an art dealer. The film opens with a title card stating (truthfully) how over half a million German Jewish men served in Germany's armed forces. Max sees the danger in Hitler, though he attempts to steer him away from politics and support his art instead. Obviously, in a very {{foregone conclusion}} Hitler joins the (then small) Nazi Party, with Max [[spoiler:being beaten to death by antisemitic thugs]], encapusaliting the tragedy of how German Jewish veterans were treated in the end (plus all other Jews from Germany or elsewhere rounded up in the Holocaust).

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': There is a heartbreaking B-plot involving Agent Rossi's former commanding officer from when he was in the Vietnam war, who is black. In the course of a case, Rossi stumbles on him living on the street. It is then revealed that the medal which Rossi believed he earned, should have gone to his commanding officer. Rossi gives the guy the medal in a public ceremony, and gets him a place with a charity which works with veterans. Eventually, the man is also reunited with his son and daughter-in-law. This guy wasn't getting respect from society because of his race, and he wasn't getting respect from his children because of his PTSD.

* A sketch on the 90s black British sketch show ''The Real [=McCoy=]'' had two WWII veterans, one black, one Indian, reflecting on their time in the war, and the abuse they suffered, but it was worth it, because they helped put an end to a racist authoritarian state. Now they just need to do something about the other one.
* The opening of ''Series/Watchmen2019'' depicts the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre 1921 Tulsa race massacre]], including shots of Will's father, a World War I veteran, in his old uniform as they flee the white mob sacking Greenwood. The second episode has a flashback of his father picking up a German Army leaflet urging black troops to switch sides, and then being spat on by a white officer.

* Sadly all-too-common in the pre-Civil Rights era in the United States, especially in the South, and ''particularly'' following UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, where returning black soldiers were even lynched in their uniforms. Come UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the difference between how African-American veterans were treated in Europe versus how they were treated at home, Truman's integration of the US Armed Forces, and the overt race-based policies of Nazi Germany were contributing factors to the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement. German and Japanese propaganda urging black soldiers not to fight, along with otherwise showcasing other racism in the US, helped this along ([[TheHypocrite grossly hypocritical]], of course, with both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan being incredily racist themselves but it did cause embarrassment which spurred changes).

* San Francisco became America's {{Gayborhood}} because veterans who realized they were homosexual, bisexual or transgender while serving and later outed knew YouCantGoHomeAgain as they would not be accepted. San Francisco was a major West Coast port of call for returning vets, so those who couldn't go back home stayed there among others like themselves.
* As cited above in the ''Max'', ''{{ComicBook/Maus}}'' and {{Series/Anne Frank|TheWholeStory}} examples, the treatment of German-Jewish soldiers who served during World War I falls into this. Many served in spite of virulent antisemitism in the country at the time; they hoped to earn the privilege of being treated as equals to non-Jewish people in German society, or that Germany would be able to stop the pogroms against the Russian-Jewish people. Even though many earned honors, the soldiers and veterans were quickly turned on when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany the Nazis rose to power]]. Although there were attempts to protect their veteran status by President Hindenburg, those disappeared after his death in 1935. After the Kristallnacht, the Jewish veterans organization was disbanded, its last act advising its members to flee Germany. Those who remained were treated the same as other Jews who remained: rounded up, imprisoned, and executed. The Nazis even tried to erase evidence that there were any Jewish soldiers who fought on behalf of Germany in World War I, and earlier the Army had suppressed a survey which showed Jews served at ''higher'' rates than their gentile counterparts, since they had wanted to prove the opposite.

* Peter [=LaFaye=]'s "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", about the Pima marine veteran Ira Hayes ([[CoveredUp perhaps better remembered]] for its ''Music/JohnnyCash'''s cover), much of which is dedicated to the hardships and discrimiation Hayes suffered after returning to the United States.

* ''Film/KingArthur'': The knights are all descendants of a people conquered by the Roman Empire and given the choice to serve in the Roman military or be wiped out. After they served their required amount of time, they chose to join Arthur in fighting the Saxons rather than return home and live the rest of their lives as this trope.

* An AmbiguouslyJewish concentration camp prisoner in ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' claims to have fought in World War I and earned "medals from the Kaiser." According to Vladek, the guards beat him to death when they got tired of his complaints.

* ''Series/HitlerTheRiseOfEvil'': Hitler's commanding officer during World War I turns out to be a Jewish man. It's suggested that Hitler, who already held strong antisemitic beliefs at the time, earned his Iron Cross by blackmailing the man with this information.

* Sadly all-too-common in the pre-Civil Rights era in the United States, especially in the South, and ''particularly'' following UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, where returning black soldiers were even lynched in their uniforms. Come UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the difference between how African-American veterans were treated in Europe versus how they were treated at home, Truman's integration of the US Armed Forces, and the overt race-based policies of Nazi Germany were contributing factors to the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement.
* To this day, undocumented immigrants are allowed to serve in the US armed forces, but can still be deported.

* As cited above in the ''{{ComicBook/Maus}}'' and {{Series/Anne Frank|TheWholeStory}} examples, the treatment of German-Jewish soldiers who served during World War I falls into this. Many served in spite of virulent antisemitism in the country at the time; they hoped to earn the privilege of being treated as equals to non-Jewish people in German society, or that Germany would be able to stop the pogroms against the Russian-Jewish people. Even though many earned honors, the soldiers and veterans were quickly turned on when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany the Nazis rose to power]]. Although there were attempts to protect their veteran status by President Hindenburg, those disappeared after his death in 1935. After the Kristallnacht, the Jewish veterans organization was disbanded, its last act advising its members to flee Germany. Those who remained were treated the same as other Jews who remained: rounded up, imprisoned, and executed. The Nazis even tried to erase evidence that there were any Jewish soldiers who fought on behalf of Germany in World War I.

* ''Series/AnneFrankTheWholeStory'': Otto Frank's service record from WWI will not prevent him from being deported by the Nazis. He can apply for Theresienstadt, a "model camp" specifically built for Jewish war veterans, but he knows perfectly well that the conditions are still horrible, while the rest of his family would be sent to even worse camps. The SD officer who arrests them does show some mild deference when he sees Otto's old war equipment, ordering the other soldiers to wait outside and telling him he can take his time to gather his family's belongings.

* ''Series/AnneFrankTheWholeStory'': Otto Frank's service record from WWI will not prevent him from being deported by the Nazis. He can apply for Theresienstadt, a "model camp" specifically built for Jewish war veterans, but he knows perfectly well that the conditions are still horrible, while [[AdultFear the rest of his family would be sent to even worse camps]]. The SD officer who arrests them does show some mild deference when he sees Otto's old war equipment, ordering the other soldiers to wait outside and telling him he can take his time to gather his family's belongings.

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{DatedHistory}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{SurvivorsGuilt}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American (who, incidentally, was the only one on the tour who actually ''was'' in the famous photo), goes missing right before an [[PropagandaMachine appearance at a stadium]]. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting and swinging a chair at a group of policemen trying restrain him outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies [[OppressedMinorityVeteran "we don't serve Indians."]] The Navy [[{{TheMedic}} corpsman]] who served alongside the [[{{SemperFi}} 5th Marine Division]] drags away a [[TheAlcoholic furious Ira]], and tells him to forget the whole thing.

** To this day, undocumented immigrants are allowed to serve in the armed forces, but can still be deported.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Jakob Eisenhardt is another German-Jewish example, who was a decorated veteran of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. His family's persecution by the Nazi regime provides a substantial portion of the FreudianExcuse of Jakob's son, Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Jakob Eisenhardt is another German-Jewish example, who was a decorated veteran of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. His family's persecution by the Nazi regime provides a substantial portion of his son Erik's FreudianExcuse.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Jakob Eisenhardt is another German-Jewish example, who was a decorated veteran of World War I. His family's persecution by the Nazi regime provides a substantial portion of his son Erik's FreudianExcuse.

TruthInTelevision, as in the cases of German-Jewish veterans in Nazi Germany and African-American servicemen in the pre-Civil Rights Movement United States.

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{DatedHistory}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{SurvivorsGuilt}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American, goes missing right before an [[PropagandaMachine appearance at a stadium]]. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting and swinging a chair at a group of policemen trying restrain him outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies [[OppressedMinorityVeteran "we don't serve Indians."]] The Navy [[{{TheMedic}} corpsman]] who served alongside the [[{{SemperFi}} 5th Marine Division]] drags away a [[TheAlcoholic furious Ira]], and tells him to forget the whole thing.

-->-- '''Frederick Douglass''' being overly optimistic in an [[http://www.marx.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol07/no09/freddoug.htm 1863 speech]]

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{HistoryMarchesOn}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{SurvivorsGuilt}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American, goes missing right before an [[PropagandaMachine appearance at a stadium]]. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting and swinging a chair at a group of policemen trying restrain him outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies [[OppressedMinorityVeteran "we don't serve Indians."]] The Navy [[{{TheMedic}} corpsman]] who served alongside the [[{{SemperFi}} 5th Marine Division]] drags away a [[TheAlcoholic furious Ira]], and tells him to forget the whole thing.

* The opening of ''Series/{{Watchmen}}'' depicts the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre 1921 Tulsa race massacre]], including shots of Will's father, a World War I veteran, in his old uniform as they flee the white mob sacking Greenwood. The second episode has a flashback of his father picking up a German Army leaflet urging black troops to switch sides, and then being spat on by a white officer.

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{HistoryMarchesOn}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{SurvivorsGuilt}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American, goes missing right before an appearance at a stadium. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting and swinging a chair at a group of policemen trying restrain him outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies "we don't serve Indians." The Navy [[{{TheMedic}} corpsman]] who served alongside the [[{{SemperFi}} 5th Marine Division]] drags away a [[TheAlcoholic furious Ira]], and tells him to forget the whole thing.

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{HistoryMarchesOn}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the second flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{TheAlcoholic}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American, goes missing right before an appearance at a stadium. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting at some men outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies "we don't serve Indians." The other [[{{SemperFi}} Marine]] drags away a furious Ira, and tells him to forget the whole thing.

* ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'', which follows [[{{HistoryMarchesOn}} the men who were believed at the time to have planted]] [[{{IwoJimaPose}} the flag on Mount Suribachi]], the surviving men are brought to the United States to promote war bond drive, and during a stop, [[{{TheAlcoholic}} Ira Hayes]], a Native American, goes missing right before an appearance at a stadium. One of the other men goes to look for him, and finds him angrily shouting at some men outside a bar. He points towards the bartender saying "he wouldn't serve me!" the bartender replies "we don't serve Indians." The other [[{{SemperFi}} Marine]] drags away a furious Ira, and tells him to forget the whole thing.