Ruben Rivers was born in Oklahoma in 1921. He was half Cherokee, half African American. He graduated from high school and then went to work with a railroad. When America entered WWII, he and his two brothers enlisted in the Army. After facing discrimination in training, he joined the 761st Tank Battalion which was sent to France as part of Gen. Patton’s famed 3rd Army. The 761st was nicknamed the “Black Panthers”. It became probably the most famous African-American unit in the war. In November, 1944, it participated in the Saar Campaign which drove for the Siegfried Line. On Nov. 8, the 23-year-old sergeant was commanding the lead tank when the column was stopped by a tree that had been felled as a roadblock. Mortar and machine gun fire pinned the supporting infantry down. Rivers got out and under fire he attached a cable to the tree and towed it out of the way. This act of valor resulted in him receiving a Silver Star. One week later, his tank led the platoon into the town of Guebling. It hit a mine which flipped it on its side and hurled Rivers into the road. He was badly wounded in the leg by shrapnel. His company commander told him it was a “million dollar wound” that would send him home a hero. With the medic poised to inject him with morphine to kill the pain, Ruben refused to be taken to a field hospital. He disobeyed his captain’s order and took command of another tank. By Nov. 19, infection had spread in the leg and the medic diagnosed it as gangrene. Although in terrible pain, he still refused to evacuate. His tank led the way through Guebling. The column came under fire from German tanks and the dreaded 88mm anti-tank guns. He ordered the other tanks to withdraw and his and another tank covered for them by engaging the enemy. His tank was hit by two 88mm rounds and he was killed. Although his captain recommended him for the Medal of Honor, the Army threw it in the trash, like all the other recommendations for Medals of Honor for black soldiers. 433 Medal of Honors were awarded during the war and not one went to an African-American! A commission in the 1990’s determined that racism was involved. Duh! On January 12, 1997, Pres. Clinton presented the Medal to the families of six men who were finally awarded the Medal of Honor. Only Vernon Baker was still alive for the ceremony.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Rivers
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/761st-tank-battalion-guebling-1944
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