Ruben Rivers

Ruben Rivers
Staff Sergeant
761st Tank Battalion
October 30, 1918 – November 19, 1944

The poet Langston Hughes once asked, “What happens to a dream deferred?” What happens when men and women put their lives on hold to selflessly serve their country in times of war? It is then that ordinary people do extraordinary things. Ruben Rivers was one such remarkable man. Born into an era when Black people were thought incapable of serving in combat roles in the military, Rivers’ service in the 761st Tank Battalion during World War II defied the racist naysayers. While facing hardships and discrimination, Staff Sgt. Rivers’ bravery and determination resulted in him giving his life and receiving the nation’s highest honor.

One of 11 children, Rivers was born on Oct. 30, 1918, in rural Tecumseh, Oklahoma to parents of Indigenous and Black descent. After graduating from high school he worked on the railways before the United States declared war on Japan in 1941. Rivers volunteered for World War II service like millions of his fellow citizens and upon enlistment, was assigned to Able Company of the segregated 761st Tank Battalion. History remembers the battalion as the famous Black Panthers.

Unfortunately, his race denied Rivers the same protections under the law that white Soldiers enjoyed. Rivers’ one advantage was his senior commanding officer at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, Maj. Paul Bates. Understanding the doubts about Black servicemen common among military leaders of the period, Bates drilled his men so that no one could question their combat ability. The rigorous training was only one obstacle preventing the 761st from deploying for combat duty. Despite the unit’s skills, the extreme racist cultural attitudes of the region and the time period created doubts that Black troops could be trusted in combat duty. Newly promoted Staff Sgt. Rivers had to deal with the increasing racial tension throughout 1943, just as the 761st were achieving mastery of both their equipment and their identity as a unit.

On June 9, 1944, three days after D-Day, the 761st was put on alert for deployment to the European Theater of Operations. After four months of additional training, the Black Panthers arrived at Omaha Beach in France on Oct. 10, 1944. There, they joined General George S. Patton’s Third Army. Despite his apprehension about African Americans in combat, Patton gave a speech to the Black Panthers, saying, “… I would have never asked for you if you weren’t good. I have nothing but the best in my Army … Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to your success. Don’t let them down and damn you, don’t let me down!”

Determined to live up to Patton’s expectations, and the battalion’s own motto “Come out fighting!”, the 761st Tank Battalion would see a total of 183 days of continual combat. Their introduction to battlefield action, however, presented immediate challenges and Rivers quickly developed a reputation for acting first and asking permission second. On Nov. 8, 1944, Able Company rolled through the forested hills of northeastern France in an assault on the German defensive line. Rivers’ thorough training alerted him to a common German strategy to delay offensive action: block the narrow roads with trees and mines before opening small arms fire. Disregarding protocol and ignoring the small arms fire exploding around him, Rivers dismounted from the lead tank and removed the roadblock. His actions earned him the Silver Star for his courage and initiative — the first awarded to the 761st Tank Battalion.

Eight days later, on Nov. 16, while leading another assault, Rivers’ tank hit a landmine and he suffered a gruesome leg injury. His company commander, Capt. David J. Williams told Rivers, “Ruben, you’re going back. You’ve got a million-dollar wound … you’re getting out of this.” Despite Williams’ insistence to evacuate and accept medical attention, Rivers replied, “This is one order, the only order I’ll ever disobey,” and proceeded to take charge of a new tank and reentered the battle.

Rivers continued to fight for three days, refusing morphine for his leg which had turned gangrenous. The morning of Nov. 19 began with a direct attack on the town of Bourgaltroff, France, near the German border on the Rhine River. The plan of attack called for Rivers’ tank and a companion tank to cross the field toward Bougaltroff and open fire near the western edge of the city with high explosive shells. Under heavy enemy fire, Rivers spotted German tanks and tank destroyers. The tank destroyers had a wide field of fire that had devastated Allied tanks and infantry alike. Facing tremendous odds, Rivers fired tracers and armored piercing shells against the enemy forces.

Despite Williams’ order to pull back, Rivers was determined to push ahead to cover the infantry and other tanks on the battlefield. He calmly radioed back to Williams saying, “I see them. We’ll fight them.” Williams radioed Rivers to take cover, but there was no response; his tank had received a direct hit. After hours of intense fighting, Able Company was notified that the enemy had been defeated, but at a severe cost in lives. Ruben Rivers was among the battalion’s first casualties. His heroic actions led Williams to immediately submit his name for a posthumous Medal of Honor, despite knowing the Army would never acknowledge a Black man’s selfless sacrifice during such segregated times.

Ruben Rivers was laid to rest in the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France, nearly 5,000 miles away from his family in Oklahoma. In 1993, almost fifty years after his death, the United States Department of Defense finally recognized that there was a disparity in the way that medals were presented during and after World War II. President Bill Clinton awarded Rivers the Medal of Honor in 1997. His sister Grace represented the Rivers family at the ceremony, with Capt. Williams in attendance.

Rivers’ honor was long overdue. He is only one example of the Black Soldiers who waited decades for recognition. Though many were nominated for the Medal of Honor and earned battlefield commissions, no Black Soldiers received the Medal of Honor during World War II. Rivers fought both the Axis forces and the racial stereotypes of the times. Despite his death, he emerged victorious on both fronts, earning an honored place in military history.

Caitlin Healy, Education Specialist
Eugene Ramsey Hardin IV, Graduate Historic Research Intern

Sources

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, and Anthony Walton. Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII’s Forgotten Heroes. Harlem Moon and Broadway Books, 2005.

Child, Robert. “Chapter 18: Patton’s Panthers.” Essay. In Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Recipients of World War II, 193–211. New York, NY: Osprey Publishing, 2022.

DiNicolo, Gina M. The Black Panthers: A Story of Race, War, and Courage: The 761st Tank Battalion in World War II. Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, LLC, 2017.

Harvey, Ian. “The Black Panthers, the Segregated 761st Tank Battalion Took on the SS 11th & 13th Panzer Divisions.” warhistoryonline, October 13, 2019. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/news/the-pioneering-Black -panthers.html.

Robertson, Rickey. “Stephen F. Austin State University.” SFASU, February 20, 2018. https://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/9907.asp.

Sasser, Charles W. Patton’s Panthers. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 2005.

Sasser, Charles W. “Patton’s Panthers: The Story of the 761st Tank Battalion.” Warfare History Network, April 3, 2008. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/pattons-panthers-the-story-of-the-761st-tank-battalion/.

Additional Sources

Print Resources

Delmont, Matthew F. “Chapter 15: Victory in Europe.” Essay. In Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, 233–34. New York, NY: Viking, 2022.

Gravett, Peter J. Battling While Black: General Patton’s Heroic African American WWII Battalions. Virginia Beach, VA: Koehler Books, 2023.

Marquis, Samuel. Soldiers of Freedom: The WWII Story of Patton’s Panthers and the Edelweiss Pirates. Glenwood Springs, CO: Mount Sopris Publishing, 2020.

Potter, Lou, William Miles, and Nina Rosenblum. Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.

Internet Resources

Davies, Gareth. “The REAL Black Panthers: Story of America’s Black Tank Squadron.”

Heusinkveld, Hank. “The 761st Tank Battalion: Fighting the Enemy, Beating Stereotypes.” Army.Mil, February 9, 2007. https://www.army.mil/article/1792/The_761st_Tank_Battalion__Fighting_the_Enemy__Beating_Stereotypes.

Lengel, Ed. “Black Panthers in the Snow: The 761st Tank Battalion at the Battle of the Bulge.” nationalww2museum, July 9, 2020. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/Black -panthers-761st-tank-battalion-battle-of-the-bulge.

Lusher, Adam. “Meet the Real ‘Black Panthers.’” The Independent, March 28, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/Black -panther-panthers-african-american-716st-tank-battalion-soldierSoldiers-us-race-second-world-war-segregation-a8276281.html.

Marquis, Samuel. “Black Panthers vs. Nazis: Meet Patton’s All-Black 761st Tank Battalion That Transformed Race Relations and Made America Better – the Lazy Historian: Fascinating Stories with Sass from the Past.” The Lazy Historian, July 25, 2020. https://lazyhistorian.com/black-panthers-vs-nazis-meet-pattons-all-black-761st-tank-battalion/

Robertson, Rickey. “Stephen F. Austin State University.” SFASU, February 20, 2018. https://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/9907.asp.