761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion of WWII
Researched by James E. DuBose
Three Black American rank battalions were activated during World War II. They were the 758th, 761st and 784th. The 761st was the first of these to go into combat. The battalion was activated in April 1942 at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana. General J. McNair gave birth to the idea of utilizing Black soldiers in the Armored Force. Many were opposed to the idea. One such individual who was opposed was one of Americas’ most famous generals,- George S. Patton, Jr., tank commander of the Third Army. Orders were issued to organize the first Black tank battalion in our nation’s history - the “758th. A cadre from the 758the was then used to organize the 761st. Many thought it was enough to have Black men in the armored division. However, it became a battle to get into battle. During World War II, the army was segregated, but due to the tenacious efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt as well as prominent Black leaders and the Black press, the 761st was given the opportunity to go into combat. After nearly a year of intensive training at the Central Army Installation of Camp Hood, the 761st departed and following a brief stay at Camp Shanks, New York, were enroute to the European Theater of Operations. Ironically, General Patton had requested that the best remaining separate Tank Battalion be sent to him in Europe. He would then later tell the men that he had asked for them because he had heard that they were good, and that he had only the best in his third army. In October 1944, the 761st landed in France on the Normandy peninsula. True to their battle cry the courageous World War II Black Panthers came out fighting. During their first encounter with the enemy, the 761st had been in combat for less than two months, Major General M.S. Eddy, Commanding General of Headquarters XII Corps, issued a special memorandum to the commanding office of the 761st Tank Battalion Stating, “I consider the 761st Tank Battalion to have entered combat with such conspicuous courage and success to warrant special commendation. The speed with which they adapted themselves to the frontline under the most adverse weather conditions, the gallantry with which they emerged from their recent engagement in the vicinity of Dieuze, Morville, Les Vic, and Gruebling entitle them surely to consider themselves the veteran 761st.” It is a matter of record that, in the early battles in France and in countless others, the men of the 761st conducted themselves admirably under stress as well as under the relentless fire of the enemy. The fighting at Tillet, the heavy causalities sustained by both sides and finally, the retreat of the expert German 13th SS Panzer Division as the 761 pushed forward, turned the tide. The 761 Tank Battalion fought with valor in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria as well as in the “Battle of the Bulge.” They even participated in the liberation of Holocaust victims held in Nazi concentration Camps. The 761st, with their M4 Sherman tanks, racked up more than 180 days of continuous combat - although the average lifespan of a separate tank battalion on the frontlines in Europe during World War II was only ten to fifteen days. In addition to receiving high praise from the War Department a total of almost 400 battle awards were bestowed upon the men of the 761st. It took years for the unit’s soldiers to receive the decorations they deserved. A recommendation for a Presidential Unit Citation was submitted in 1945. President Jimmy Carter awarded it in 1978. A 761st Platoon Sergeant, Ruben Rivers, was one of 7 black soldiers who, after examining their war records, was awarded the Medal of Honor, 6 of them posthumously, by President Bill Clinton in 1997.