The Black Panther Tank Battalion: S/Sgt. Ruben Rivers

Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.

Ruben Rivers was born on October 30th, 1918 in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Upon graduating high school, he worked as a railway worker. He was drafted into the US Army to fight in World War II in January of 1942 at 24 years old.

Rivers was assigned to the 761st Tank Battalion, which later became known as the “Black Panthers”. They were a primarily black battalion that was treated as an experiment. At the time, the military was segregated, and the military wasn’t sure that black soldiers had the intellect or ability to operate tanks. As a result, the 761st trained for two years, as opposed to the standard few months, before being deployed.

Then Staff Sergeant Rivers and the rest of the Black Panthers arrived in Normandy in 1944. During 183 days of continuous combat, the Panthers traveled through six countries and liberated 30 towns on their march to Germany, becoming the first african american tank battalion to see combat.

On November 19th, 1944, the 761st was advancing towards Guebling, France. As Rivers’ tank crossed a railroad, it hit a mine, causing shrapnel to slash Rivers’ leg to the bone. He repeatedly refused morphine and evacuation, telling his CO “Captain this is gonna be bad. You’re gonna need me. A couple days won't make any difference.”

Rivers took command of another tank and continued on for another three days until the panthers were stopped by fire from a German anti-tank unit. The company commander ordered the panthers retreat, but Rivers, seeing the location of the enemy, radioed and said “I see ‘em, We’ll fight ‘em!”. He and another tank engaged the enemy, providing cover fire for the rest of the panthers as they withdrew. Suddenly River’s tank was hit by two high powered artillery shells, killing him and wounding the rest of the crew.

Rivers was recommended for the Medal of Honor by his commanding officer, but it was a long shot. At that point, no african americans had been awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the first or second world war.

Finally in 1997, over 50 years later, Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his fighting spirit and daring leadership. The award was presented to his eldest sister, and River’s CO, who initially recommended him for the award, attended the ceremony. Rivers is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in France.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.

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