All-Black 761st Tank Battalion

[Bob Hudson]

My brother in Pennsylvania is just starting to learn about militaria but even so manages to come up with some interesting things. I'm visiting my folks in PA this week and he showed up here with a book with a rather beat up dust jacket. Inside the book was a newspaper article about the owner of the book, a couple of copies of typed information and the official program for a Presidential Unit Citation ceremony in 1979.

 

The book is Come Out Fighting: The Epic Tale of the 761st Tank Battalion 1942-1945 the history of the first black armor unit to see combat. Apparently this was first published in 1946 by combat correspondent Trezzvant W. Anderson and members of the 761st and then reprinted in 1979 especially for the Unit Citation ceremony.

 

My brother wanted to know if it was worth anything, so I did the web search and could find no reported sales of one but I did find one for sale on Amazon.com, for $945 (and yes that was for the 1979 printing). I have no idea how that Philadelphia bookseller came up with that number, but my brother was stunned.

 

I was stunned by how many other books were written about the 761st (inclding one co=authoried by by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), which seems to have had an very interesting and effective tour of duty in WWII.

 

The 761st Association has a website at http://www.761st.com/ and their description of the unit is as such:

 

Later referred to as the Black Panther Tank Battalion, the 761st was attached to the XII Corps' 26th Infantry Division, assigned to Gen. George S. Patton Jr.'s Third Army, an army already racing eastward across France, and committed to combat on Nov. 7, 1944. As a result of their great fighting abilities they spearheaded a number of Patton's moves into enemy territory. They forced a hole in the Siegfried Line, allowing Patton's 4th Armored Division to pour through into Germany. They fought in France, Belgium, and Germany, and were among the first American forces to link up with the Soviet Army (Ukranians) at the River Steyr in Austria.

 

and this addresses the PUC:

 

The history of the 761st Tank Battalion has been told a number of times, including books, starting with one titled Come Out Fighting that was written and self-published by the unit's enlisted members immediately after the end of World War II in Europe. The strength of the 761st Tank Battalion was proven during 183 days of continual fighting (including action in the Battle of the Bulge) after the Black Panthers became the first African-American armored unit to enter combat. Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism in action. Warren G. H. Crecy received a battlefield commission and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor while earning his reputation as the Baddest Man in the 761st. Baseball legend Jackie Robinson was an officer with the 761st Tank Battalion during training at Camp Hood, Texas, but he was prevented from going to Europe with his unit by a racial incident on a bus. An article in the January 1992 edition of Army magazine by Lt. Col. Philip W. Latimer describes his recollections of When the Black Panthers Prowled. Eventually, after delays caused by the deep racial prejudices of the time, the unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by President Jimmy Carter.

 

 

This copy of Come Out Fighting belonged to unit member Frank Alexander and on the inside cover there are autographs from unit historian Walter Lewis, one of the unit's medics and two other unit members. One of the documents included with the book is Lewis' comments about the unit's receipt of the PUC so many years after the war. It's signed in blue ink, but printed in black, so he must have personally signed each of the copies of he presumably handed out the the PUC was awarded.

 

Despite the beat up dust jacket, the book is in nice condition. It was found in a garage being cleaned out at a vacant property.

 

 

Here's a couple of the autographs on the inside cover:

 

 

 

Gen. Patton's words to the 761st:

 

 

Several pages of the book reproduce old newspaper stories about the unit:

 

[Bob Hudson]

The other documents that were in the book:

 

 

One document is a capsulized history of the 761st:

 

 

Another is a rather candid commentary on the PUC by unit historian Walter Lewis:

 

 

 

The Presidential Unit Citation program:

 

 

This is Frank Alexander, who had owned this book (on the inside cover he listed the pages that mentioned him and underlined those mentions inside the book):

 

[Jeeper704]

Wow, what a find!

That's sure some really good history you found there.

 

Erwin

[Old Marine]

That is a fantastic find! A great bit of History!

[Mr-X]

Awesome find.

 

Not sure about the Amazon price though. But you never know!

I guess you'll have to watch the for sale book to see if it sells

at that price.

[Bob Hudson]

Awesome find.

 

Not sure about the Amazon price though. But you never know!

I guess you'll have to watch the for sale book to see if it sells

at that price.

 

My brother is jazzed because the books and documents are going to a tank museum that already has an exhibit about the 761st (and that Amazon asking price is not as farfetched as you might think). Last year my brother found a uniform jacket that belonged to a member of the Korean War GHQ Raiders, a group formed mostly out of MacArthur's GHQ guard. The MacArthur Museum in Norfolk solicited that for a display, but they had no budget and my brother needed some money so it is now in the hands of an active duty Special Forces NCO who collects vintage special ops items. My brother knows next to nothing about militaria, but he's got a good eye and as I told him today, it's pretty amazing that in one year two different museums have solicited his finds for display (as opposed to to just stashing them away in storage boxes forever).

 

As I mentioned, this book was found in a garage on a vacant property and it was only a fluke that it ended up going to a museum instead of the dump. I can't wait to see what my bro comes up with next!

[The Meatcan]

wow! great stuff! your brother must be some sort of "awesome militaria magnet"

[gunbarrel]

Bob,

 

Neat post. This is the first time I have seen it. One of my neighbors is one of the sons of Capt. David J. Williams, Ruben River's officer. Capt. Williams, who was awarded the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and received four campaign stars, wrote "Hit Hard" about the unit. My neighbor's son got out of the Marine Corps recently. These folks don't make a big deal about their family's service; they look at it as we just do our job. Great Americans!

[kammo-man]

Bob

That's a great post thanks

 

The art on the dust jacket is great

 

Owen

[WorldWarPatches]

The other documents that were in the book:

 

 

One document is a capsulized history of the 761st:

 

 

Another is a rather candid commentary on the PUC by unit historian Walter Lewis:

 

 

 

The Presidential Unit Citation program:

 

 

This is Frank Alexander, who had owned this book (on the inside cover he listed the pages that mentioned him and underlined those mentions inside the book):

 

 

Just in, this is a rare bird