Thread by @18airbornecorps

THE ORIGINAL BLACK PANTHERS: A STORY IN 50 TWEETS

On this #MLKDay, we pay homage to the original Black Panthers, the 761st Tank Battalion who liberated more than 30 towns and villages during WWII.

2 of 50: The 761st is the subject of an upcoming major motion picture, “The Liberators,” produced by Michael B. Jordan, star of “Black Panthers” and the current hit “Just Mercy.”

3 of 50: In honor of these remarkable men, we hope you consider reading and sharing this entire thread.

4 of 50: The story starts before US entry into WWII. On 16 September 1940, with a global war looming, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft.

5 of 50: The legislation stated that “In the selection and training of men under this act, there shall be no discrimination against any person on account of race and color.”

6 of 50: The military was segregated at the time. The NAACP tried to use the Selective Service Act as an opportunity for racial integration within military units, however, FDR allowed black soldiers to serve only in all-black units.

7 of 50: Many whites officers did not think black Soldiers should fight in the war at all, but General Lesley J. McNair, the commander of Army Ground Forces, successfully argued that "colored" units should be employed in combat.

8 of 50: In December, 1941, the US formally entered WWII. Thousands of new units were needed to fight overseas.

9 of 50: All-black units were formed, but with white leadership. One such unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, an all-black armored unit with white leadership, was formed in April of 1942 at Camp Claiborne.

10 of 50: Camp Claiborne, in Louisiana’s Rapides Parish, was rife with racial intimidation and violence.

11 of 50: With 593 black enlisted men and 36 black officers (but white company commanders), the 761st was designated for the European Theater.

12 of 50: The black Soldiers who arrived at Camp Claiborne to serve as tankers found that most of the community was off-limits to non-whites. Many later recalled that they did not know much about the war raging in Europe. They felt they were in a war at home.

13 of 50: The difficulties and obstacles black Soldiers faced in the 1940s cannot be overstated. One member of the 758th, Leonard Smith, was arrested in the summer of 1942 for entering a “white” store.

14 of 50: Consider this 1942 statement in a formal, signed memo submitted by General Crawford (War Department) to Eisenhower re: assigning black officers to all-black units:“...enlisted men generally function more effectively under white officers."

15 of 50: The 761st, a separate battalion, trained hard in Louisiana. The battalion called itself the Black Panthers and developed an aggressive identity around its motto of “Come out fighting.”

16 of 50: More black soldiers and officers flowed in to the battalion throughout 1942. Under its first commanding officer, Major Edward E. Cruise, every Soldier learned each position on the tank.

17 of 50: In Sept 1943, the Black Panthers moved to Camp Hood, Texas w/new commander, Major (soon Lieutenant Colonel) Paul Bates.

18 of 50: The Black Panthers reorganized from M5 Stuart light tanks to M4 Sherman medium tanks.

19 of 50: It was during this time that Paul Bates, the battalion commander, replaced most of the white company commanders with black officers. It’s unclear exactly why, but it is known that at least some of the white company commanders did not want to serve with black Soldiers.

20 of 50: That summer, a black 2nd Lieutenant assigned to the 761st was arrested for refusing to move from the front to the back of a public bus outside Camp Hood. Court-martial charges ensued but could not proceed. Paul Bates refused to consent to the charges.

21 of 50: The brass at Camp Hood transferred the 2nd Lieutenant to another unit, where its white commander immediately signed the court-martial consent.

22 of 50: That 2nd Lieutenant was American Baseball Legend Jackie Robinson. His story unto itself speaks volumes about the experience of black Soldiers serving in the US Army during WWII.

23 of 50: By the spring of 1944, the 761st Tank Battalion was deemed ready by the War Department to fight in the war. After D Day, 6 June 1944, the unit was alerted for overseas movement.

24 of 50: While waiting to move to the war, the men learned about the great battle in Europe. Many were excited to prove themselves to their countrymen in combat.

25 of 50: On 1 August 1944, the Black Panthers moved from Camp Hood to New Jersey to stage for movement into Europe by ocean. Here, even as they prepared to fight for American interests, the black Soldiers, wearing American Army uniforms, were not allowed in “white restaurants.”

26 of 50: Once in Europe, in October 1944, the Black Panthers, the first black tank unit to enter WWII, were assigned to Patton’s Third Army. A “bastard” battalion, the 761st was self-sustained and available to any division in the Third Army.

27 of 50: The 761st received a welcome from Patton: “Men, you’re the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army…I don’t care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those kraut sonsabitches.” Not the most PC of Generals.

28 of 50: The men first saw combat on 7 November 1944, fighting through the French towns of Moyenvic and Vic-sur-Seille, often at the leading edge of the advance.

29 of 50: On 18 December, three days into the Battle of the Bulge, the 761st was poised to strike into the Siegfried Line at Saarbrücken, Germany, when they received orders to turn 90 degrees and dash into the Ardennes with the Third Army.

30 of 50: One contingent traveled by train and arrived several days ahead of the bulk of the battalion, which negotiated the steep and icy roads to the battlefields in Belgium.

31 of 50: Once there, they fought alongside the 101st Airborne Division to break the siege of Bastogne. The Battle of the Bulge continued and the men fought on.

32 of 50: On New Year’s Eve 1944, the Black Panthers went on the offense, spearheading the push east for the 87th Infantry Division. By this time, all the men were out of dry socks. Their wool tank outfits were soaked & frozen in the -20°F weather.

33 of 50: On 3 January 1945, during a fierce tank engagement, the Black Panthers killed more than 150 German soldiers at Bonnerue.

34 of 50: The enemy continued to fall back as the Black Panthers advanced. Soon, they were in support of the 17th Airborne Division against the elite troops of the 13th Panzer Division.

35 of 50: The 761st more than held its own, fighting ferociously against a well-trained enemy. Here is Thomas S. Mangrum, Sr., one of the remaining original members of the 761st.

36 of 50: By the end of the Battle of The Bulge, three officers and 31 enlisted men of the 761st had been killed in action. The fighting continued.

37 of 50: In May 1945, the Black Panthers were part of the Allied forces who liberated Gunskirchen, a subcamp of the Mauthausen concentration camp.

38 of 50: One woman liberated by the 761st, Sonia Schreiber Weitz, described the soldier who saved her in this poem, “The Black Messiah.”

39 of 50: By the time Europe was liberated, the 761st endured 183 days of continuous operational employment!!! Compare this with many American units which generally only fought for a few weeks at a time.

40 of 50: In all, the battalion earned more than 300 Purple Hearts and participated in 4 major Allied campaigns in 6 countries. Still, it wasn’t until decades later that the 761st received the same recognition that white units received.

41 of 50: The 761st Tank Battalion is often referred to as “Patton’s Panthers.”

42 of 50: But that title gives entirely too much credit to the General, rather than the tankers. During the war, Patton expressed skepticism about black Soldiers.

43 of 50: Even after the war, knowing full well how successful these units had been and how hard these men had fought, Patton expressed doubts about the fighting ability of an all-black tank battalion.

44 of 50: In truth, these men overcame racial hatred and stereotyping on their own, to face the most severe conditions we have ever faced in war, when their country called for their service.

46 of 50: In 1997, 50+yrs after WWII, President Clinton posthumously presented the Medal of Honor to seven men who had served in the battalion noting: “No African American who deserved the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II received it.”

47 of 50: We spoke with Colonel (Retired) Charles Allen, professor of leadership and cultural studies at the @ArmyWarCollege, who told us: "The history of the 761st is one of the many forgotten contributions of African-American to our U.S. military legacy.”

48 of 50: Charles Allen continued: "Its motto 'Come Out Fighting' is reflective of the struggle within an Army that was as segregated as the nation it served. Its soldiers fought and died to provide liberty and justice to oppressed people in foreign lands."

49 of 50: Charles Allen concluded: “When they returned home to American soil, their struggle continued to gain, as full citizens, the ‘inalienable rights’ guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

50 of 50: We hope you will share this story far and wide. If you’d like to learn more about the 761st, we suggest the wonderful book “Brothers in Arms” by NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
For this thread: images by @erikthehistorian, editing by @mother_of_tanks.

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