Terry Whitmore

Terry Whitmore
Terry Whitmore receiving Purple Heart from President Johnson December 23, 1967.
Born
Terry Marvell Whitmore

(1947-03-06)March 6, 1947
Memphis, Tennessee
Died11 July 2007(2007-07-11) (aged 60)
Memphis, Tennessee

Terry Marvell Whitmore (March 6, 1947 – July 11, 2007) was an American soldier, deserter and actor.

A Black Marine, he who was one of the 503,926 soldiers and sailors who deserted from the United States military during the Vietnam War.[1] He wrote about it in Memphis-Nam-Sweden: The Autobiography of a Black American Exile, one of the few memoirs of that war by a Black author, as well as appearing in two documentaries about GI resistance to the war. His autobiography, which was first published in 1971 and republished in 1997,[2][3] has been called "an important addition to the canons of Viet Nam War literature and…also to that of African American autobiography."[3]: p.196  In addition to the two documentaries, while in exile he appeared in four Swedish fiction films as an actor.[4][5]

  1. ^ Montgomery, Paul L. (1974-08-20). "Number of Deserters and Draft Evaders Disputed - Proponents Call for Full Pardon, Public Service or Hearings". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Whitmore, Terry; Weber, Richard (1971). Memphis-Nam-Sweden: The Autobiography of a Black American Exile. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co, Inc. ISBN 9780878059843.
  3. ^ a b Whitmore, Terry; Weber, Richard (1997). Memphis-Nam-Sweden: The Story of a Black Deserter. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9780878059843.
  4. ^ "Terry Whitmore". The Swedish Film Database. 6 March 1947. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  5. ^ "Terry Marvell Whitmore Obituary". legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.