US Army Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers - Hero of the Black Panther Tank Battalion #usa #army #history

Welcome back everyone.  In this episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who faced rampant racism, but still fought for the nation he loved.  A man who was credited with saving many lives while fighting in WWII.  A man who refused to be evacuated from the battlefield after being badly wounded, which inspired his forward.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Army Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers.

Born on October 31st, 1918, Ruben was one of 12 children born to parents Willie and Lillian Rivers of Tecumseh, OK.  The Rivers were a hard working farming family and Ruben worked on their farm before getting a job on the railway after high school.  Shortly after the US officially entered World War II, Ruben and two of his brothers, Robert and Dewey,  were drafted into the military.  Ruben was officially called up in January 1942, and of the three brothers, he was the only one that would serve in a combat unit.  As he was half-black and half-Cherokee, Ruben was assigned to the all black 761st Tank Battalion.

Ruben began his training at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana then Camps Livingston and Polk before arriving at Camp Hood in TX where the 761st was eventually assigned.  His unit initially trained on the M5 Stuart light tank before receiving the M4 Sherman, a medium tank, in October 1943.  

It was reported that Ruben and his fellow black soldiers faced a lot of racism while training in LA and TX, from both civilians and fellow white soldiers.  Many believed a black man was inferior and couldn’t be relied on in combat.  Even though the 761st would eventually be assigned to General Patton’s 3rd Army, the General once wrote to his wife that “a colored soldier cannot think fast enough to fight in armor”, but Ruben and the other men of his unit, nicknamed “The Black Panthers” would prove him wrong.  Throughout training they proved themselves as more than capable soldiers and tank men.

The 761st remained training at Camp Hood until three days after the allied landings in Normandy.  On June 9th, 1944 they received word that they were being sent to Europe.  On October 10th of that year, Ruben and his men landed on Omaha Beach with the latest variation of the Sherman tank, the M4A3.  But the Black Panthers arrived with one less officer than when they left TX.  

On a bus bound for nearby Belton, TX, Lt. Jackie Robinson refused to move to the back of their segregated bus and would eventually face a court-martial.  His battalion commander refused to pursue the charges, so Lt. Robinson was transferred to the 758th Tank Battalion, where his new commander couldn’t have signed the court-martial consent any quicker.  After a 17 day trial, he was acquitted of two charges against him and three years later he would break the color barrier of Major League Baseball.

The reputation that 761st was earning seemed to be changing the minds of some in the Army.  By this time, General Patton had specifically asked for them to be under his command after observing their training while stateside.  Standing in front of the men of the Black Panthers, Patton would go on to say, “Men, you’re the first Negro tankers to ever fight in the American Army. I would never have asked for you if you weren’t good. I have nothing but the best in my Army. I don’t care what color you are as long as you go up there and kill those Kraut sons of bitches. Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from you. Most of all your race is looking forward to you. Don’t let them down and damn you, don’t let me down!”

With the motto of “Come Out Fighting”, it was only fitting that within weeks they had the chance to prove to themselves that they were combat ready.  On November 8th 26 year old Ruben, now a Staff Sergeant, was Able Company’s platoon sergeant.  As Able Company was advancing East, their progress was stopped by mines and a felled tree that was being used as a roadblock.  As their advance was halted, infantrymen were forced to take cover in roadside ditches.  The Germans knew this and began focusing rifle and mortar fire on their position.  Sgt. Rivers knew that their situation was dire and would produce heavy casualties if they couldn’t continue their advance.  Without hesitation, he jumped out of his Sherman and faced direct enemy fire as he moved forward to attach a cable to the obstacle which allowed it to be removed.  Their column then continued their advance towards their objective.  His actions were instrumental in ensuring there were few casualties and no delay in their attack and he was awarded the Silver Star for valor for his actions that day.  He would demonstrate fearlessness on other occasions as well.  

One time a lieutenant radioed Rivers and said “don’t go into that town, Sergeant, it’s too hot in there”.  The reply he got back from Rivers was “I’m sorry, sir, I’m already through that town”.  

The following week, Sgt. Rivers would once again distinguish himself.  On November 16th, the 761st were advancing toward Guebling, a town in Northeastern France.  He was in the lead tank outside of the town when it hit an anti-tank mine, which disabled it on the spot and seriously wounded Rivers.  He received a shrapnel wound that cut him down to the bone from his knee to upper thigh.  

After the blast, medics rushed to his side to render aid while reassuring Rivers that he would be going home after his million dollar wound.  His company commander, Capt. Williams had a morphine needle just a half inch away from Rivers’ leg, when he was stopped by Rivers himself.  He said, “Captain, you’re going to need me”.  His commander then gave him a direct order, “you’re going back!”.  He then yelled for medics to come with a stretcher.  At this point Rivers pushed the morphine away and got up on his feet.  He told Captain Williams, “this is one order, the only order I’ll ever disobey.”

He did allow the medics to clean and dress his wounds, and he climbed aboard another tank and took command of it.  Shortly after, the Germans began hitting their position with heavy artillery fire and Captain Williams ordered his men to disperse.  The Black Panther advance was temporarily halted as engineers had to construct  a bridge across a river leading to town.  The Germans concentrated fire at the engineers, but the Black Panthers pushed them back.  The engineers worked quickly and had a bridge in place by the afternoon of the next day and Sgt. Rivers was aboard the lead tank across the river.  

After entering the town, Rivers engaged two German tanks and disabled them both.  He then took aim at two others, forcing them to retreat further into the town.  Rivers was feeling the effects of his injury, but he fought on through the rest of the day.  Early on the following morning, Captain Williams and company medics visited each tank to assess the men's condition.  When they reached Rivers, they observed that he was in excruciating pain.  By this time a bad infection had set into his leg and he faced amputation if he was not immediately evacuated.  He refused their recommendation and stayed to fight alongside his men.  

Throughout the remainder of the day, both sides were unable to dislodge each other.  On the morning of the 19th, Rivers and his men assaulted the town once again.  Rivers was credited with spotting anti-tank gun emplacements, directing fire onto their positions.  This allowed some pinned men to move to a safer position.  

The brief advance by the 761st was again halted by heavy enemy fire.  The tank column couldn’t advance and further so Captain Williams ordered all of the tanks to withdraw to a place of safety while Rivers covered their withdrawal.  He observed the position of a German anti-tank unit and, along with another tank, moved to a firing position.  Telling Captain Williams, “I see’em.  We’ll fight ‘em.”  Shortly after, Rivers' tank, which was exposed, was hit by two high explosive rounds, killing him and injuring all the other men in the tank.

The Black Panthers of the 761st went on to distinguish themselves further.  Through the war, they saw six continuous months of battle where they were credited with inflicting 130,000 casualties, as well as destroying three ammunition dumps, 461 vehicles, 34 tanks, and 113 large guns.  They also helped to capture four airfields and liberate over 30 towns and several concentration camps.  It took 34 years before the 761st Tank Battalion was recognized by receiving the Presidential Unit Citation in 1978.

Following his heroic actions over the last three days of his life, Captain Williams put in a recommendation for Sgt. Rivers to receive the medal of honor.  The recommendation did not advance, which kept the nation from properly recognizing his acts of valor.  In fact, of the 432 Americans to receive the Medal of Honor during WWII, not a single one was awarded to a single black man.  It wasn’t until 1997 when the nation tried to right a wrong.  

On  January 13th, 1997, Staff Sgt. Ruben Rivers and six other men were awarded the Medal of Honor by President Clinton.  The six men also awarded were Lt. Charles Thomas, Lt. Vernon Baker, Pfc Willie James Jr., Sgt. 1st Class Edward Allen Carter Jr., Pvt. George Watson, and Lt. John Fox.

As written in Sgt. Rivers’ Medal of Honor citation, his fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his unit and exemplify the highest traditions of military service.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.

If you want to learn more about the life of Sgt. Rivers, you can find all the sources used for today’s episode in our show notes and on our website, dutyandvalor.com.

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