In october of 1944, the 761st tank battalion became the first african american tank battalion to see combat in world war ii. Army sherman tanks attempted to land at utah beach in support of the 4th infantry division. Because the 15th was known as the wolf pack, it had a wolfs head over an armored triangle as the battalion insignia. Unit history of the 68th tank battalion this will be the record of the 68th tank battalions participation in successive campaigns from the historic breakthrough in normandy to ve day in the heart of germany. The 70th tank battalion was comprised of three tank companies, each with 16 sherman tanks. The 740 th tank battalion in the battle of the bulge cecil taylor was a tank commander and a member of the 740 th tank battalion, a specialized unit that was assigned to different infantry divisions whenever extra armored support was needed. The 68th tank battalion in combat bangor public library. This black tank battalion earned 11 silver stars and the. Some of the fourteen tanks were reused after tarawa by the 2nd separate tank company in the marshall islands in february 1944. The tank battalions mark in history slowly began to fade until its actions were summed up in a presidential unit citation awarded in 1978. Abduljabbar, who authored the book brothers in arms.
I have made a spreadsheet of the stations and record of events entries for each day from the copies of the morning reports that i have thus far obtained. Book recalls black world war ii tank battalion the. Inspectorinstructor sergeant major, 4th tank battalion. See more ideas about d day, world war ii and world war. Each tank battalion had a complement of 32 officers amd 374 men. Company d, 31st tank battalion 7th armored division. Captain john w heard bernard bud h fink, b company, passed away on november 6th, 2018 buds obituary. Don was a tech sergeant of the 42nd tank battalion in headquarters during 194445 in the battle of the bulge. The coat of arms of the 1st tank battalion is a jousting shield of blue with a scarlet border and a large numeral 1 in the 1st marine division font in scarlet behind an m2a4 tank painted as used at guadalcanal during world war ii all behind a diagonal lightning bolt striking from the shields upper left to the shields lower right.
Home world war ii operational documents unit journal741st tank battalion. In some black and white photos the marking appears as a wolf head on a simple white square. The 740th tank battalion in the battle of the bulge. Its mission is to provide combat power to 1st marine division in the form of amphibious andor. The 741st waged a grueling war that began on dday when twentyseven of its amphibious tanks sank and hapless crewmen perished in the frigid water. Medical detachment, 70th tank battalion ww2 us medical.
On june 9, 2009, a stretch of highway 9 running through pottawatomie county, oklahoma, where ruben rivers grew up, was named in his honor u. The only light tanks in the 31st tank battalion were in company d. I picked this posthumous purple heart up several week ago, and have just begun to research it a bit. They could have possibly been in england before landing at north africa. The 6th armored division had three tank battalions. Mcclintock served with the 741st tank battalion in world war ii.
The corps is prepared to exercise mission command of army, joint, and multinational forces, as a corps, joint task force jtf, or combined joint. After action report, 716th tank battalion, 9 jan 45 thru 8. In 1998, the 761 st tank battalion deactivated received a presidential unit citation, the highest award that a unit can receive. And, by the end of the war, the black panthers had fought their way. Those with a link will take you to a battalion published history. Please forgive me for any omissions and let me know, so i can add them. Covers training in the united states and combat action in france and germany. The speaker is david williams, reflecting on his world war ii experience as a captain with the 761st tank battalion. The word heavy had nothing to do with the tank, but, rather, described the to and e of an infantry divisions tank battalion which had three companies of 22 tanks each. Sometimes the painting wasnt even finished before the vehicle. Home world war ii operational documents after action report, 716th tank battalion, 9 jan 45 thru 8 feb 45, 18 mar 45 thru 8 feb 45.
Iii corps and its subordinate units are prepared to rapidly deploy and conduct the full range of military operations to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative, in order to defeat any adversary. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This page is dedicated to members and families of veterans of the 781st tank battalion now deactivated from fort knox, ky. Marine corps forces reserves major subordinate commands. Official records of the 38th armored infantry battalion. Properly, however, it was the 72d tank battalion heavy. The war ended for the 741st in czechoslovakia on ve day, where the surviving tank crewmen found themselves mobbed by another exuberant population. The 761st were known as the black panthers after their units distinctive insignia.
Stewart of tennessee was a member of the 191st tank battalion, one of the. Company e, 68th infantry was originally organized as company a of the 328th tank battalion in 1918. The epic tale of the 761st tank battalion, 19421945, was published in 1945. The battalion landed in southern frace as part of operation dragoon on 15 august 1944. I found out a bit about the soldier using traditional sources, but if anyone can add to what i have below i would appreciate it. National archives photo reference number uncertain. The resilience of 741st tank battalions leader capt. After action reports, journals and more click here for more information, ordering instructions, and samples for december 19, 1944. Thus tank companies of the heavy battalion had four platoons each the medium tank battalion of the armor divisions, on. The 761st tank battalion was an independent tank battalion of the united states army during world war ii. Welcome to the official 1st tank battalion facebook page. Kareem abduljabber has done a fabulous job of documenting the 761st tank battalions service during world war ii. John w heard, c company, passed away on january 18, 2019.
Harris was awarded the medal of honor posthumously for this action. It was redesignated the third tank company in 1920, and. To link to this object, paste this link in email, im or document to embed this object, paste this html in website. Apr 16, 2019 741st tank battalion in world war ii, dday to veday. Battalion symbol and tank names the tanks tanks on tarawa. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading brothers in arms. In 2010, the association turned in their book and photo collection and retired the battalion colors at. The scene he described on omaha beach typified his battalions first hours in combat. Digitized by the combined arms research library carl digital library, us army combined arms center. The 756th tank battalion in the battle of cassino, 1944 by nancy tsuchiya author 4. The mission of 2d tank battalion is to close with and destroy the enemy using armorprotected firepower, shock effect, and maneuver, and to provide precision direct fires against enemy armor, fighting vehicles, troops, and hardened. The 761st was made up primarily of africanamerican soldiers, who by federal law were not permitted to serve alongside white troops. However the powerful elephant is a natural symbol for the tank, so there may be some other origin. Attached to my battalion for this mission were the entire 191st tank battalion, battery c of the 158th field artillery, and supporting engineers from the 120th engineer battalion at 0730 on the morning of april 29, the task force had resumed the attack with companies l and k and the tank battalion as the assault force.
Later in the war, this symbol was reused by the tanks of the 3rd tank battalion in 1944 and 1945. In the end, the men of the 761st tank battalion were awarded a medal of honor, 11 silver stars, and about 300 purple hearts despite facing racism as the first black armored unit in combat and the second in u. Marines with 1st tank battalion, move to their combat operation center, during exercise steel knight sk 2019 at marine corps air ground combat center, twentynine palms, california, dec. The medical detachments parent organization was the 70th tank battalion the oldest and most experienced independent tank battalion in the eto, initially formed from 1st battalion, 67th infantry regiment medium tanks then stationed at fort george g. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. Captain heard was company commander of c company from late 1944 through the end of the war. Because the 740 th was not permanently attached to a division, it was known as a bastard battalion. The book chronicles the lives of young black men from all over the united states who registered for the draft or volunteered in the united states army in 1942. The 1st battalion, 72nd armor regiment was born of armor in 1943 as a company, 5th armored regiment and was activated for battle in july 1943 at camp chaffee, arkansas.
Harris and most o fhis crew were killed while defending the 3rd battalion 7th infantry regiment hq from a german attack. The tank corps was formed from the heavy branch mgc on 27 july 1917 and the battalions adopted numbering rather than letter designations although tank names followed the same lettering. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. A battalion truck was driven hundreds of miles through germany to locate and haul a linotype machine so that type could be set for this book. These are a gold mine of information about where each part of the battalion was on any given day. Home world war ii operational documents after action report 701st tank battalion. Abmc headquarters 2300 clarendon blvd, suite 500 arlington, va 22201 phone.
Us army units book 2 boxes 127489 33rd armored regiment. The original black panthers fought in the 761st tank. The 756th tank battalion maintained an active association for over 20 years. Sk is an annual exercise used to enhance the marines and sailors skills, tactics, and combat readiness by performing in various dynamic. Afterward, the battalion swept across germany, tangling with tiger tanks and deadly flak guns as the third reich died in a firestorm of its own making. When the war came to a close, they were in bamberg and munich. Home world war ii operational documents after action report 741st tank battalion 21 may 1944 apr 1945. Normal complement called for approximately 700 men and 40 officers. Formed from 67th infantry medium tanks at fort meade, maryland, on 15 june 1940 under lt. The 31st tank battalion had the only tanks that were in chartres on the night of 1516 august 1944.
Throughout this period of combat, the courageous and. After action report 741st tank battalion 21 may 1944 apr. Battlefield commission prisoner of war killed in action oak leaf cluster posthumous go record for award not found yet. Those with a link will take you to a battalionpublished history. Brothers in arms is the actual, heroic account of the 761st tank battalion, an africanamerican armored unit that fought in world war ii.
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