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Posted on 03/07/2005 10:32:19 PM PST by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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Before and during mobilization for World War II, officials in Washington, D.C., debated whether or not African-American soldiers should be used in armored units. Many military men and politicians believed that blacks did not have the brains, quickness or moral stamina to fight in a war.  Referring to his World War I experiences, Colonel James A. Moss, commander of the 367th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, stated, "As fighting troops, the Negro must be rated as second-class material, this primarily to his inferior intelligence and lack of mental and moral qualities." Colonel Perry L. Miles, commander of the 371st Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division, voiced a similar opinion: "In a future war, the main use of the Negro should be in labor organizations." General George S. Patton, Jr., in a letter to his wife, wrote that "a colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor." The armed forces embraced these beliefs even though African Americans had fought with courage and distinction in the Revolutionary War and every other war and conflict ever waged by the United States. They overlooked the fact that four regiments of the 93rd Division had served with the French during World War I and that the French government had awarded the coveted Croix de Guerre to three of the four regiments and to a company of the fourth, as well as to the 1st Battalion, 367th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division.  Aerial view of post troops section, Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, 1941. Yes, those are mostly all tents. Photo credit: US Army Signal Corps, Lieutenant General Leslie J. McNair, chief of the U.S. Army ground forces, was the main proponent of allowing African Americans to serve in armored units. He believed his nation could ill afford to exclude such a potentially important source of manpower. The black press, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Congress of Racial Equality also placed increasing pressure on the War Department and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to allow black soldiers to serve on an equal footing with white soldiers. In the summer of 1940, Congress passed into law the Selective Training and Service Act, which said, "In the selection and training of men under this act, there shall be no discrimination against any person on account of race and color." In October, however, the White House issued a statement saying that, while "the services of Negroes would be utilized on a fair and equitable basis," the policy of segregation in the armed forces would continue. In March 1941, 98 black enlisted men reported to Fort Knox, Ky., from Fort Custer, Mich., for armored warfare training with the 758th Tank Battalion (light). The pioneer black tankers trained in light tank operations, mechanics and related phases of mechanized warfare, as enlisted men from other Army units joined their ranks.  Tank crew at Camp Claiborne (National Archives) The 758th trained on the M-5 light tank, which carried a crew of four. Powered by twin Cadillac engines, it could reach a maximum speed of 40 mph and had an open-road cruising range of 172 miles. It was armed with a .30 caliber machine gun mounted to fire along the same axis as the tank's main armament, a 37mm cannon. When the tracer bullets from the .30 caliber registered on a target, the cannon would be fired, hopefully scoring a direct hit. The M-5 was also armed with two more .30-caliber machine guns, one on the turret and one in the bow. The light tank was employed to provide fire support, mobility and crew protection in screening and reconnaissance missions. The 5th Tank Group, commanded by Colonel LeRoy Nichols, was to be made up of black enlisted personnel and white officers. With the 758th Tank Battalion in place, two more tank battalions were needed to complete the 5th Tank Group. On March 15, 1942, the War Department ordered the activation of the 761st Tank Battalion (light) at Camp Claiborne, La., with an authorized strength of 36 officers and 593 enlisted men. (The final battalion--the 784th--would be activated on April 1, 1943.) On September 15, 1943, the 761st Battalion moved to Camp Hood, Texas, for advanced training; there they changed from light to medium tanks.  Cleaning the equipment (photo from National Archives) On July 6, 1944, one of the 761st's few black officers, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson, was riding a civilian bus from Camp Hood to the nearby town of Belton. He refused to move to the back of the bus when told to do so by the driver. Court-martial charges ensued but could not proceed because the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Paul L. Bates, would not consent to the charges. The top brass at Camp Hood then transferred Robinson to the 758th Tank Battalion, whose commander immediately signed the court-martial consent. The lieutenant's trial opened on August 2 and lasted for 17 days, during which time the 761st departed Camp Hood. Robinson was charged with violating the 63rd and 64th Articles of War. The first charge specified, "Lieutenant Robinson behaved with disrespect toward Captain Gerald M. Bear, Corps Military Police, by contemptuously bowing to him and giving several sloppy salutes while repeating, O'kay Sir, O'kay Sir, in an insolent, impertinent and rude manner." The second charge stipulated, "Lieutenant Robinson having received a lawful command by Captain Bear to remain in a receiving room at the MP station disobeyed such order." Robinson was eventually acquitted, and he was not charged for his actions on the bus. Three years later, Robinson was riding buses in the major leagues after breaking baseball's color barrier. In October 1944, after two years of intense armored training, the 761st Tank Battalion, known as the "Black Panthers," landed in France. The tankers received a welcome from the Third Army commander, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., who had observed the 761st conducting training maneuvers in the States: "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 sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to you. Don't let them down and damn you, don't let me down!"  Major General J. Lesley McNair On November 8, 1944, the Black Panthers became the first African-American armored unit to enter combat, smashing into the towns of Moyenvic and Vic-sur-Seille. During the attack, Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers, in Able Company's lead tank, encountered a roadblock that held up the advance. With utter disregard for his personal safety, he courageously climbed out of his tank under direct enemy fire, attached a cable to the roadblock and removed it. His prompt action prevented a serious delay in the offensive and was instrumental in the success of the attack. On November 9, Charlie Company ran into an anti-tank ditch near Morville. The crack German 11th Panzer Division began to knock out tanks one by one down the line. The tankers crawled through the freezing muddy waters of the ditch under pelting rain and snow while hot shell fragments fell all around them. When German artillery began to walk a line toward the ditch, the tankers' situation looked hopeless. After exiting his burning tank, 1st Sgt. Samuel Turley organized a dismounted combat team. When the team found itself pinned down by a counterattack and unable to return fire, Turley ordered his men to retreat, climbed from the ditch and provided covering fire that allowed them to escape.
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Such a good man and lost too early. I have no doubt that he was an excellent NCO.
I didn't know him personally, but from what I understand he was an okay Spec-Five tank driver who pulled his own weight, and after the incident during which he earned his MOH, those who worked with him were neither surprised nor overawed that the recognition had come his way: he was just one of the crew doing his job, and circumstances made it such that his job became a little busier than for most of them.
But when he and four others received his Medal of Honor from President Johnson on , one of the others that day was a troop I'm glad to call a personal friend, one of four I've known who wear that precious decoration with the multi-starred pale blue ribbon. And he confirmed that the former M48A3 driver and treadhead would have just as easily fit in in his outfit too. There wasn't much fancy or pretentious about those guys.
And when I hear the word *hero* misapplied, I think of those guys, and I sometimes get more than a little annoyed.
These five Army heroes were presented with the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam by President Lyndon Johnson at the White House. Shown outside of the Executive Mansion after the ceremony, Left to right: Capt. James A. Taylor, Ft. Knox, Ky.; Spc. 4 Gary G. Wetzel, Oak Creek, Wis.; Sgt. Sammy L. Davis, Martinsville, Ind.; Spc. 5 Dwight. H. Johnson, Detroit; and Capt. Angelo J. Liteky, a chaplain and native of Washington D.C. November 19, 1968
It's great to be back in the world.
Had to replace my entire wardrobe. Left a size 46, returned a size 36. The Kandahar Diet works!
RATS, I've been discovered.
"Junior's" pop was quite the poet.
Hi Sam.
Hiya Sam
Hi miss Feather
The Japanese...
ROFL!
Now THAT'S Black History. I wonder how many edu-crats highlighted this in their classrooms?
Thanks for telling this story, Archy. I can't imagine surviving the ambush like he did, but to survive and then be killed stateside is so senseless.
The Claiborne Tankers?? I think they'd better stick with the Black Panthers.
Excellent thread today for tread heads. American All The Way. This is another amazing story about WW2 troops that is currently being made into a movie. The History Channel is also working on a segment about the last days of WW2. (The 761st Tank Battalion)
"After being in combat 178 days, on the front line, word was out that the war was coming to an end. Orders were cut not to give the 761st any gasoline for their tanks to keep them from being the first American troops to meet the Russians. That honor was to go to the 13th and 14th Armored Divisions, white troops, however, a sergeant of the 761st supply company took trucks to the Kohlgrube depot and talked with the men in a Black quartermaster unit. By telling them who they were, what had happened, and what they wanted to do, they agreed to help. The quartermaster enlisted men stole 30,000 gallons of gasoline from the airstrip for the 761st Tank Battalion. You may not read about it, or see it in the movies, but the 761st Tank Battalion were the first American troops to meet the Russian Army at the Steye River, Austria." -- Lee Davis
Sergeant Rivers was something else. He sure deserved that MOH.
I'm still shaking my head that some peckerwood civilian would tell an officer in the United States Army during WWII to go to the back of the bus. Jackie sure told him, though.
I always found medals were given more for political reasons than anything else. Somebody wants you to get one, you get one. That somebody has his own reasons even if he can't put them into words. Who knows.
My experience, anyway. I saw guys "rise to the occasion", and saw more guys hide. Don't think that will ever change.
?????
The unit trained at Camp Claiborne, La., hence the "Claiborne Tankers." But it just doesn't have a ring to it, does it?
Got it. Stick with Black Panthers. I was just alluding to their exploits and how they might compare to the Tuskegee Airmen. Flying has always been the more "glamorous" job, but you don't win wars with planes alone.
Cheers!
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