| 761st Tank Battalion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1942–1946 (segregated unit) 1947–1955 (integrated unit) |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Separate tank battalion |
| Role | Armored warfare |
| Size | Battalion |
| Nickname | Black Panthers |
| Motto | Come Out Fighting |
| Colors | Blue, red, yellow |
| Mascot | Black panther |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |  Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt. Col.Paul L. Bates |
The761st Tank Battalion was anindependent tank battalion of theUnited States Army duringWorld War II. Its ranks primarily consisted ofAfrican American soldiers, who byWar Department policy were not permitted to serve in the same units as White troops; theUnited States Armed Forces did notofficially desegregate until after World War II. The 761st were known as theBlack Panthers after theirdistinctive unit insignia, which featured ablack panther's head, and the unit's motto was "Come out fighting". Decades after the war, the unit received aPresidential Unit Citation for its actions. In addition, a large number of individual members also received medals, including oneMedal of Honor, elevenSilver Stars and approximately 300Purple Hearts.[1]
Immediately before and during World War II, U.S. military leaders had reservations about using African American soldiers in combat.[2] GeneralLesley J. McNair, the commander ofArmy Ground Forces, successfully argued that "colored" units should be employed in combat. At McNair's suggestion, the U.S. Army began to experiment with segregated combat units in 1941; the program was supported by, and given national exposure in,Life magazine.[3]The 761st was constituted on 15 March 1942, and activated 1 April 1942, atCamp Claiborne,Louisiana. The battalion began training inM5 Stuart light tanks. They learned how to maneuver, mount, dismount, and maintain the vehicle's37 mm main gun and .30 caliber machine guns. Final training was atFort Hood, Texas, where they were upgraded to theM4 Sherman medium tank, which had a75 mm main gun, two .30 caliber machine guns, a .50 caliber machine gun, and a two-inch smoke mortar.[citation needed]
Most of the black tankers had to train in installations located in Southern states such asKentucky, Louisiana, and Texas. In the days before the civil rights advances made in the 1960s, black people were still treated harshly in the South and often considered inferior by white residents.[4][5][6][7][8] The men of the 761st trained for almost two years, conscious of the fact that White units were being sent overseas after much less training.[9]
Black soldiers of that time and place were subject to many racist crimes perpetrated by White soldiers, including a bloody riot between members of a neighboring segregated tank battalion and White military policemen in Alexandria, Louisiana on 10 January 1942.[10] Several members of the 761st vowed to retaliate. They commandeered six tanks and a half-track but were persuaded to stand down by Lieutenant Colonel Bates who promised to straighten the situation out.[11]
The most famous member of the 761st was First LieutenantJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson. During the 761st's training, a White bus driver told Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused and was arrested.[12][13][14] Battalion commander Lieutenant ColonelPaul L. Bates refused to consider thecourt-martial charges put forward by the arrestingmilitary policemen. The post commander transferred Robinson to the758th Tank Battalion, whose commander was willing to sign theinsubordination court-martial order.[15] Robinson was acquitted of all charges. After the war, he was instrumental in desegregating professional baseball.[citation needed]
GeneralBen Lear, commander of theU.S. Second Army, rated the unit "superior"[16] after a special review and deemed the unit "combat ready." After the two-year training session in Texas, 761st Tank Battalion received the order in 9 June 1944 for overseas movement three days after theD-Day landings in Normandy. The battalion aboard the British troop carrierEsperance Bay from New York and arrived in Britain on 8 September 1944 and was initially assigned to theNinth Army.[17] After a brief deployment to England, the 761st landed in France viaOmaha Beach on 10 October 1944. The unit arrived (with six White officers, thirty black officers, and 676 black enlisted men[18]) and was assigned to GeneralGeorge Patton'sUS Third Army at his request, attached to the26th Infantry Division.
The unit saw action in Northern France from October 1944, it fought in theBattle of the Bulge, later proceeding to theRhineland, and spent the final months of the war on German soil.
As the 761st was about to enter combat, GeneralGeorge S. Patton reviewed the battalion and made a speech to the men which offered a guarded vote of confidence in their abilities:
Men, you're the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren't good. I have nothing but the best in my Army. I don't care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those Kraut sonsofbitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to your success. Don't let them down and damn you, don't let me down! They say it is patriotic to die for your country. Well, let’s see how many patriots we can make out of those German sonsofbitches.[19]
However, like most American military officers of the era,[20] Patton expressed his doubts about using black men in combat. On returning to headquarters following the review, he remarked, "They gave a good first impression, but I have no faith in the inherent fighting ability of the race."[19] He only put this sentiment aside and accepted the 761st when he desperately needed all the ground power he could get. Even after the war, Patton was not inclined to reform his perception of black soldiers. InWar As I Knew It, he relates the interaction described above, and comments, "Individually they were good soldiers, but I expressed my belief at the time, and have never found the necessity of changing it, that a colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor."[21]
Patton's biographerCarlo D'Este explained that "on the one hand he could and did admire the toughness and courage" of some black soldiers, but his writings can also be frequently read as "disdaining them and their officers because they were not part of his social order."[22] Historian Hugh Cole pointed out that Patton was also the first American military leader to integrate rifle companies "when manpower got tight."[23] Retired NBA Hall-of-FamerKareem Abdul-Jabbar, co-author ofBrothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes, agreed that although Patton was a bigot the fact remains that he did lend his name to the advancement of blacks in the military at the time, unlike most other military officers (Patton did prevent a black soldier from being lynched while serving as commander of a fort inEl Paso before the war). Most of the veterans of the 761st that Abdul-Jabbar interviewed stated they were proud to have served under Patton.[24]
During the Battle of the Bulge, German soldiers who had raided American warehouses were reported to havedisguised themselves as Americans guarding checkpoints in order to ambush American soldiers. Patton solved this problem by ordering black soldiers, including the 761st, to guard the checkpoints, and gave the order to shoot any White soldiers at the checkpoints who acted suspiciously.[25]
The battalion first saw combat on 7 November 1944, fighting through towns such asMoyenvic,Vic-sur-Seille, often at the leading edge of the advance. The fighting that 761st engaged in atMorville-lès-Vic was particularly brutal. The unit endured 183 days of continuous operational employment.[26]
The 761st Tank Battalion suffered 156 casualties in November 1944; 24 menkilled, 81 wounded, and 44 non-battle losses. The unit also lost 14 tanks evacuated and another 20 damaged in combat. In December, the battalion was rushed to the aid of the101st Airborne Division atBastogne.[27] As part of the effort to drive the Germans from the vicinity of Bastogne, the battalion fought to capture the municipality ofTillet [fr], less than 15 km west of the town, in early January 1945. Supporting the elements of the 87th Infantry Division with just eleven tanks,[28] the battalion took control of the city from the113th Panzer Brigade[29] through 2 days of combat, losing 9 tanks in the process.[30]
After the Battle of the Bulge, the unit opened the way for theU.S. 4th Armored Division into Germany during an action that breached theSiegfried Line. The 761st smashed through dozens of German cities and towns in their rapid advance through the Reich. In the final days of the war in Europe, the 761st was one of the first American units to reachSteyr,Austria, at theEnns River, where they met with the 1st Ukrainian Front of the SovietRed Army.[31] On 4 May 1945, the 761st, along with the 71st Infantry Division, liberated theGunskirchen concentration camp;[32] the German guards had fled not long before.
The 761st was deactivated 1 June 1946 in Germany. Writer Logan Nye opined they were "one of the most effective tank battalions in World War II." In all, the battalion earned about 300 Purple Hearts.[1]
For unusual heroism in serving with Company A of the 761st, theMedal of Honor was awarded posthumously toStaff SergeantRuben Rivers in 1997.[33]
After decades of racial tensions in the United States began to ease, the battalion was belatedly awarded thePresidential Unit Citation by PresidentJimmy Carter on 24 January 1978, for their World War II service. The 761st Tank Battalion's award became official on 10 April 1978 by the Department of the Army underGeneral Orders Number 5.
On 24 November 1947, the 761st was reactivated (as an integrated unit) atFort Knox,Kentucky, and assigned to the Regular Army, where it served until again inactivated on 15 March 1955.
A monument dedicated to the 761st Tank Battalion was unveiled atFort Cavazos, Texas, during a ceremony attended by surviving veterans on 10 November 2005, as a permanent tribute to soldiers who had served and continued to serve throughout the world for liberty, honor, and democracy. The monument features four black granite tablets surrounding a life-size marble sculpture of a 761st Tank Battalion fighter kneeling atop a black granite pedestal engraved with a tank on the front and a panther on the back.
The monument is located on 761st Tank Battalion Drive.
Countries: France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria.
| (1 April 1942 – 1 June 1946) | |
|---|---|
| Lt Col Edward E. Cruise | 1 April 1942 – 21 November 1942 |
| Maj John R. Wright Jr. | 22 November 1942 – 3 July 1943 |
| Lt Col Paul L. Bates | 4 July 1943 – 8 November 1944 |
| Lt Col Hollis E. Hunt | 9 November 1944 – 23 February 1945 |
| Lt Col Paul L. Bates | 24 February 1945 – 1 June 1946 |
Trezzvant Anderson's book,Come Out Fighting: The Epic Tale of the 761st Tank Battalion, 1942–1945, was published in 1945.[34]
In 1992, a documentary titledThe Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II was produced. The documentary depicted the battalion's liberation ofconcentration camps during 1945 but was criticized for misidentifying the units and camps involved.[35][36]
In 2007, executive producer Steven A. White released an independent, feature length, high-definition documentary on the 761st Tank Battalion. The film, entitled761st was written, produced, and directed byPete Chatmon and produced by 761st Tank Battalion unit historian, Wayne Robinson. It features interviews with eleven combat veterans of the 761st and is narrated byAndre Braugher.[37]
Several of the later episodes ofThe History Channel seriesPatton 360 featured 761st veteran William McBurney who related his experiences with the battalion in the Lorraine Campaign, the Battle of the Bulge, and in the ultimate conquest of the German homeland.
A 1993 episode ofLaw & Order titled "Profile" featured a 72-year-old assault victim played byJoe Seneca who credited his experiences with the 761st for saving his life.
In an episode ofThe Cosby Show, Cliff Huxtable and some male friends are discussing their military experiences and one of them describes in detail his World War II exploits as a member of the 761st Tank Battalion.
ActorMorgan Freeman andKareem Abdul-Jabbar are co-producing a new movie about the 761st, based on Jabbar's and co-writer Anthony Walton's 2004 book,Brothers in Arms. On 15 December 2006, Freeman discussed the film and working withWill Smith, and possiblyDenzel Washington, on it in the near future.[38]
The 1991 novelSeven Six One by "G.F. Borden" was based on the experiences of the 761st Tank Battalion in Europe.
In the 2004 video gameCall of Duty: Finest Hour, a sergeant from the 761st is a playable character. The game depicts the battalion's fight in the Belgian town of Tillet.
In the science fiction novel,The Light of Men (2008) by Andrew Salmon, the 761st liberate the fictional concentration camp ofGutundbose in which the story is set.
In the 1981 police mysteryChiefs, written byStuart Woods, and theCBS mini-series of the same name, the 761st is mentioned as the unit of the ill-fated black mechanic Marshall Parker, killed after being arrested on false pretenses by Sonny Butts and Charley Ward, beaten and shot. Later, it is revealed as having been the unit of the new black police chief of Delano, Georgia, Tucker Watts, who was once, much earlier, known as Willie Cole, whose father had murdered Delano's first chief of police, Will Henry Lee.
The character of Ronsel Jackson in the 2017 filmMudbound is a veteran of the 761st Tank Battalion.[39]
Author Brenda Woods' 2019 novel,The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA, is about a White boy named Gabriel Haberlin who befriends a black man named Meriwether Hunter who was a member of the 761st Tank Battalion.
In the third episode of the eighth season of the seriesArcher, The titular character is discussing his WWII experience with the members of a jazz quartet, one of whom states he was a member of the 761st Tank Battalion.
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