Tango01 | 29 Mar 2021 9:27 p.m. PST |
… Battalion, 1945 "The African American 761st Tank Battalion, the "Black Panthers," had built a distinguished, indeed heroic record of service in the fall and winter of 1944-1945. Entering combat in early November 1944 attached to the 26th Infantry Division, they had captured towns like Morville-les-Vic and Guebling against strong enemy resistance. Then, in the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge, attached to the 87th Infantry Division, they had engaged in fierce fighting for the town of Tillet. Every time they fought bravely, and every time they emerged victorious. But the casualties had been heavy. All too often, decorations—when the white US Army hierarchy chose to award them—were bestowed posthumously. Wear and tear on equipment, especially to trucks and the workhorse M4 Sherman medium tanks that made up the bulk of the Black Panthers' striking power, increasingly forced the men to make use of M5 Stuart light tanks to carry supplies to frontline units, perform reconnaissance, and even engage in combat…"
Main page link
Armand
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Andrew Walters | 30 Mar 2021 9:41 a.m. PST |
Neat! Amazon has four book on this unit. Two are by the same author and have nearly the same title. All have high ratings. I'll have to take some time to pick one, tank books are great. |
Buck215 | 30 Mar 2021 11:19 a.m. PST |
It is long past due for the 761st Negro Tank Battalion to get its share of fame. Yes, everyone knows about the Tuskegee Airmen through many books and movies, and the 761st has been the subject of a few books ("Patton's Panthers", etc.) but what about movies or miniseries with the 761st as the subject? Hollywood producers and suits should green light a miniseries about the 761st (similar to "Band of Brothers" or "The Pacific") and would be just as exciting and more importantly, bring their story to prominence. Just like it was believed black men could not fly and fight with an airplane, it was also believed black men could not drive and fight in a tank, yet without them, WW2 would have been a more difficult fight. |
Tango01 | 30 Mar 2021 12:20 p.m. PST |
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Garand | 30 Mar 2021 2:16 p.m. PST |
I think a show that depicts the gritty realities of armored warfare in WWII as well as tell the story of hour african-americans overcame institutional racism to prove their worth on the battlefield would be a good story to tell. Damon. |
Prince Alberts Revenge | 30 Mar 2021 3:24 p.m. PST |
To piggyback on Buck and Garands comments, I'd even take an animated version of the 761st's experiences. By animated, I'm thinking of the series The Liberator that followed the 157 Infantry Regiment's experience in WW2. |
Legion 4 | 31 Mar 2021 5:02 p.m. PST |
Yes, the 761st certainly proved itself. Like many African-American units. Just it took a long time to get this information out in the open per se. For all to see … Just like in the movie "Hidden Figures" … very few people knew of the excellent work these 3 African-American females did for NASA. And in turn the USA … |
Garand | 01 Apr 2021 11:46 a.m. PST |
Apparently a feature length movie is in the works about the 761st, produced by Kareem Abdul Jabar (amongst others)… Damon. |
Legion 4 | 01 Apr 2021 4:51 p.m. PST |
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Andy ONeill | 02 Apr 2021 6:34 a.m. PST |
It seems weird now from a modern english perspective. I don't think the concern of some was that only pink people could fight. Accounts I've read seem to indicate the authors thought something different might happen. Some were concerned about who those non pink people might shoot. British officers seem to have been far happier letting those non pink people fight for their country. I find it very depressing to see racism still so obviously at work in modern society. I know tribalism is hard wired into people. We're supposed to be able to rise above that in a civilised society. We've still somehow not quite attained civilization though. |
deadhead | 02 Apr 2021 12:31 p.m. PST |
The tale is often told how the UK welcomed black US soldiers (indeed Commonwealth also) and could not understand US attitudes. They were far more polite than the wealthy Caucasian guys suddenly let loose in a poverty stricken country, known for its reserve on first meeting. If there were riots, it was as much UK folk fighting to protect black folk who were fighting for freedom. Now this is the story we are now told, I do accept. It was also a long time ago. But when the Free French were ordered that black African troops could not fight alongside their comrades in 2eme DB in North West Europe, at US insistence, it is sickening still. It was a long time ago. Also, it was soon enough that England became almost as racist, when the Caribbean folk were actually asked to come here, post war, to run transport and the health service. I remember reading "No blacks, No Irish" on rentals, as a kid. The world has moved on. With notable exceptions. We have this week a tale of a police officer in London, as a serving member of an insane Neo Nazi organisation. It is not just over the Pond. |
Cke1st | 03 Apr 2021 4:05 p.m. PST |
"Brothers in Arms" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar not only tells the story of the unit's struggles against the Germans and against their own command; it is also a brutally realistic description of trying to wage armored war in the dead of a miserably cold winter. I strongly recommend it. |
deadhead | 04 Apr 2021 2:21 a.m. PST |
A film I watched last night did portray what they faced coming home to a segregated South. "Mudbound"….grim but very moving. You do get to see an M4A1 with a 76 gun and an M5 Stuart for a few moments…. |
Blutarski | 04 Apr 2021 6:37 p.m. PST |
The totally ironic thing about this is that the United States Armed Services was the first American institution to formally and officially integrate. This occurred between the end of WW2 and the Korean War, which was fought with fully integrated units at all levels. Not saying that informal racial prejudice did not persist, but full integration of the military was an official and unalterable fact of line at that point. Another inspiring story (for me at least) is to be found in the strenuous and successful efforts exerted by the Special Forces command to extricate families of the Vietnamese hill tribes (Montagnard, Hmong) who worked for the US as mercenaries in VN. The NVA hated them on political grounds because they worked for the Americans and the South Vietnamese in general disliked them on racial grounds, considering them to be something akin to lower life forms. A lot of those folks were extricated from Vietnam and re-settled in the USA. Little stories to suggest that there is hope for humanity. B |
Legion 4 | 06 Apr 2021 9:17 a.m. PST |
In WWI the French Army accepted the US Black soldiers more readily than the US. As they had Black, etc., units from their overseas colonies, etc. The same with the UK in WWII as well … The racial prejudice many Black soldiers and even in some cases Hispanic and American Indians was just tragic. When they returned from war. And when I hear about this I can't say how much I hate what happened to those Vets. Not as bad in most cases but we saw something similar with returning Vets from the Vietnam War as well. This sort of behavior towards Vets or minorities is totally unacceptable IMO. In any case … A lot of those folks were extricated from Vietnam and re-settled in the USA. Even where I live in OH, we have Hmong running nail salons, etc. And we even have 2 Vietnamese restaurants here too. And where I live is not really a big city like NYC, LA, etc. But I'm very glad to see this regardless. |
Blutarski | 06 Apr 2021 6:46 p.m. PST |
Hi Legion, Don't recall whether I posted this story before, but back in the late 70s/early 80s my best friend's wife was closely involved with the resettlement program for Hmong families in the greater Boston MA area. They were placed more or less as a clan group in a neighborhood of Boston that had a bit of a reputation for young wise-guys. They way I heard the story, a group of these fellows in the neighborhood started annoying the Hmong grannies when they were out shopping, which was seen as an insult and a problem by the men of the clan. So they formulated a plan to deal with it. Realizing that they were now guests in a new country, wholesale mayhem was not an option. Their compromise solution was to just take a couple of heads and put them on various fire hydrants around their neighborhood as a "cease and desist" warning. My buddy's wife got wind of this at the last moment and the phones lit up all over Boston College (which was overseeing the resettlement program) An emergency intervention team was rushed over to the Hmongs to explain that their more moderate solution was also going to be frowned upon. From what I heard later, the issue was resolved when the local cops took the neighborhood kids aside and explained to them who these Hmong guys were. No more problems. True story. B |
Legion 4 | 07 Apr 2021 8:47 a.m. PST |
I like it !!! A simple effective solution !!! Works for me ! As we see today anti-Asian attacks are on the rise. These thugs generally seem only to go after the old. They are cowards … Hopefully they will run into the wrong Asian … |
Tango01 | 04 Jun 2021 10:02 p.m. PST |
Black Panthers in the Snow: The 761st Tank Battalion at the Battle of the Bulge link
Armand
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Tango01 | 05 Jun 2021 4:25 p.m. PST |
761st Tank Battalion: Patton's Panthers Would Not Quit link
Armand |
Nine pound round | 06 Jun 2021 6:12 a.m. PST |
Many of you have probably seen this before. It was produced in about 1943, to be shown as a training aid to US soldiers en route to the UK. The narrator is a very young Burgess Meredith (whom many people today remember as the feisty old grandfather in "Grumpy Old Men"): YouTube link It's all interesting, but in the context of this discussion, go to 25:15, and watch the interaction between the elderly lady and the young soldier. General Lee, who puts in an appearance later on, apparently requested that it be included and insisted on participating. There's a LOT to think about in this film, which was meant for the most part to be shown to people who had never been more than a state or two away from home, much less crossed the ocean. It's interesting to watch Burgess Meredith interpret the scene for an audience that would have included people from all over the US. Even in those days, attitudes on segregation were not monolithic. The Army had always been segregated, but the Navy didn't introduce it until Woodrow Wilson's administration brought Jim Crow policies wholesale into the Federal government (including the Civil Service). Incidentally, I think the role that the Second World War played in ending segregation is seldom fully appreciated. The discoveries of what the Nazis were up to provoked a lot of reassessment, and changed a lot of individual attitudes. Even the Soviets played their part, since they exploited the gap between our national beliefs and policies to an embarrassing extent during the Cold War years. |
Legion 4 | 06 Jun 2021 9:54 a.m. PST |
Incidentally, I think the role that the Second World War played in ending segregation is seldom fully appreciated. So very true … especially today. Many are clueless … |