Brothers in Arms
THE EPIC STORY OF THE 761ST TANK BATTALION, WWII'S FORGOTTEN HEROES
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ; Anthony Walton
- A
- powerful
- wartime
- saga
- recounting
- the
- extraordinary
- story
- of
- the
- 761st
- Tank
- Battalion,
- the
- first
- all-black
- armored
- unit
- to
- see
- combat
- in
- World
- War
- II.“More
- than
- a
- combat
- story
- .
- .
- .
- it’s
- also
- the
- story
- of
- how
- black
- soldiers
- had
- to
- fight
- (literally
- and
- figuratively)
- for
- the
- right
- to
- fight
- the
- Germans.”—USA
- TodayKareem
- Abdul-Jabbar
- first
- became
- immersed
- in
- the
- history
- of
- the
- 761st
- Battalion
- through
- family
- friend
- Leonard
- “Smitty”
- Smith,
- a
- veteran
- of
- the
- unit.
- Working
- with
- acclaimed
- writer
- Anthony
- Walton,
- Abdul-Jabbar
- interviewed
- surviving
- members
- of
- the
- battalion
- to
- weave
- together
- a
- page-turning
- narrative
- based
- on
- their
- memories,
- stories,
- and
- historical
- accounts,
- from
- basic
- training
- through
- the
- horrors
- of
- the
- battlefield
- to
- their
- postwar
- experiences.Trained
- essentially
- as
- a
- public
- relations
- gesture
- to
- maintain
- the
- support
- of
- the
- black
- community
- for
- the
- war,
- the
- battalion
- was
- never
- intended
- to
- see
- battle.
- In
- fact,
- General
- Patton
- originally
- opposed
- their
- deployment,
- claiming
- African
- Americans
- couldn’t
- think
- quickly
- enough
- to
- operate
- tanks
- in
- combatconditions.
- But
- in
- the
- summer
- of
- 1944,
- following
- heavy
- casualties
- in
- the
- fields
- of
- France,
- the
- Allies—desperate
- for
- trained
- tank
- personnel—called
- the
- battalion
- up
- anyway.While
- most
- combat
- troops
- fought
- on
- the
- front
- for
- a
- week
- or
- two
- before
- being
- rotated
- back,
- the
- men
- of
- the
- 761st
- served
- for
- more
- than
- six
- months,
- fighting
- heroically
- under
- Patton’s
- Third
- Army
- at
- the
- Battle
- of
- the
- Bulge
- and
- in
- the
- Allies’
- final
- drive
- across
- France
- and
- Germany.
- Despite
- a
- casualty
- rate
- that
- approached
- 50
- percent
- and
- an
- extreme
- shortage
- of
- personnel
- and
- equipment,
- the
- 761st
- would
- ultimately
- help
- liberate
- some
- thirty
- towns
- and
- villages,
- as
- well
- as
- several
- branch
- concentration
- camps.
- The
- racism
- that
- shadowed
- them
- during
- the
- war
- and
- the
- prejudice
- they
- faced
- upon
- their
- return
- home
- are
- an
- indelible
- part
- of
- their
- story.
- Shining
- through
- most
- of
- all,
- however,
- are
- the
- lasting
- bonds
- that
- united
- them
- as
- soldiers
- and
- brothers,
- the
- bravery
- they
- exhibited
- on
- the
- battlefield,
- and
- the
- quiet
- dignity
- and
- patriotism
- that
- defined
- their lives.
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