I started the conversation with Blacks in WWI, more fascinating to me because it's all but lost in the past, and it had to have been impossibly tough on them in that war. But the following, dealing with Blacks in WWII, is worth noting, especially today. I can't remember if anyone already posted about these "Black Panthers".
In Time for Veterans Day, Heroic All-Black WWII Battalion Memorialized Date: Thursday, November 10, 2005 By: F. Finley McRae, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com In a moving ceremony Thursday at Fort Hood to honor a revered group of World War II legends, the heroic all-black 761st Tank Battalion, a four-component statue was unveiled before a grateful audience, which included several of the unit's alumni. While a number of officers, including Col. Victoria Bruzese, the garrison commander at the Kileen, Texas, facility, and currently enlisted men and women, looked on, James Jones, a 761st alumnus, slowly pulled the heavy black cover off the gray and white statue. Its most compelling image is of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers, bent down on one knee, peering through his binoculars. Rivers was one of a very few blacks to posthumously receive a Congressional Medal of Honor. None were honored during World War II or immediately after it. Jones, who will be 83 in March, served in Europe with the Battalion, the most decorated unit on either side, Allied or Axis, a unit which was known as the Black Panthers because of its supremely confident, lethal strikes against the fearsome German Panzer Division. The unveiling, timed to coincide with Fridays commemoration of Veterans Day, was a belated honor for the 850 men who distinguished themselves in 1944 after their transfer to the Third Army Division, commanded by the infamous Gen. George S. Patton. In an interview Thursday morning, Jones, who lives in Laurel, Mississippi, said he and the surviving 30 or so 761st alumni "are very appreciative to Beverly Taylor, without whom this statue would not exist." Taylor, who served in the Womens Army Corps, began researching the unit's illustrious history in 1992 and determined that it should be nationally publicized and promoted. From the seed of that vision and the commitment of other collaborators, the idea for the statue was born and nurtured. Taylor later established a 761st Alumni Chapter at Fort Hood. "I'm happy I've lived to be a messenger and a voice for my comrades-in-arms, whose service in defense of this country was so extraordinary," said Jones, focusing on the unit's heroism rather than his own contributions. That history is vast and began with the unit's assembly in late 1943 when the 758th, 769th and 760th were folded into the 761st. After training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the unit was sent to Fort Hood, where it was used as an opposition group to prepare white tank destroyers for combat. However, like the storied 332nd Fighter Squadron -- reluctantly pressed into service after the dismal failure of white fighter pilots to protect the heavy, low-flying American bombers from the Luftwaffe -- the 761st was rushed into action because Patton's tankers could not contain the Panzers, much less repel them. Within three weeks after landing at Bastigone, France and quickly taking three city's from the Nazis, the 761st, without rest, pushed on to the Western front to engage the enemy. The fighting there was fierce, sustained for days and terribly costly to both sides. Although the Black Panthers emerged victorious and routed the Panzers -- which angered and humiliated Adolph Hitler, who often bragged about their prowess -- they suffered 425 casualties, half of their men, including the valiant Rivers. The Panthers hold the record for the longest consecutive number of days in combat -- 183, which still stands. President Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential Citation to the entire unit in 1979. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/LRMolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
