AXEMAN - WDT Salute to Service Desert Eagle Edition
We Died Too - Saluting the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion for their service and all the forgotten fallen.
Featuring Jeremiah Trotter #54 themed hoodie #GoBirds
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
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The 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion was established after pressure from civil rights activists like A. Philip Randolph, who demanded more opportunities for black soldiers. The 761st became the first African-American armored unit to see combat in World War II.
Training was difficult as the Army provided outdated equipment and insufficient resources compared to white units. They were even reduced to using wood mock-ups painted to look like tanks.
Despite challenges of intense training and racist animus, the 761st developed into a highly skilled and disciplined tank battalion, serving with distinction from France to Austria. The pioneering African-American Tank Battalion participated in major battles like the Battle of the Bulge and had direct involvement in the liberation of Gunskirchen, Wels, and other concentration camps during their crucial drive to Germany near the end of the European campaign.
Their service came at a heavy price.
While fighting for freedoms they themselves could not enjoy back home in America, they lost an estimated 150-200 KIA over the course of the war. Despite the horrors suffered and discrimination endured, the Black Panthers were a heavily decorated unit. The 761st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation which is among the highest awards a U.S. military unit can receive. They also received the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Fourragere, and over 150 individual members of the battalion received Silver Stars for bravery and gallantry under fire. They even were bestowed a Medal of Honor.
Today, the 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion is honored as a trailblazer whose courage under fire helped earn a victory in Europe and paved the way for greater racial equality across the U.S. military.
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
We Died Too - Saluting the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion for their service and all the forgotten fallen.
Featuring Jeremiah Trotter #54 themed hoodie #GoBirds
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
==========
The 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion was established after pressure from civil rights activists like A. Philip Randolph, who demanded more opportunities for black soldiers. The 761st became the first African-American armored unit to see combat in World War II.
Training was difficult as the Army provided outdated equipment and insufficient resources compared to white units. They were even reduced to using wood mock-ups painted to look like tanks.
Despite challenges of intense training and racist animus, the 761st developed into a highly skilled and disciplined tank battalion, serving with distinction from France to Austria. The pioneering African-American Tank Battalion participated in major battles like the Battle of the Bulge and had direct involvement in the liberation of Gunskirchen, Wels, and other concentration camps during their crucial drive to Germany near the end of the European campaign.
Their service came at a heavy price.
While fighting for freedoms they themselves could not enjoy back home in America, they lost an estimated 150-200 KIA over the course of the war. Despite the horrors suffered and discrimination endured, the Black Panthers were a heavily decorated unit. The 761st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation which is among the highest awards a U.S. military unit can receive. They also received the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Fourragere, and over 150 individual members of the battalion received Silver Stars for bravery and gallantry under fire. They even were bestowed a Medal of Honor.
Today, the 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion is honored as a trailblazer whose courage under fire helped earn a victory in Europe and paved the way for greater racial equality across the U.S. military.
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
We Died Too - Saluting the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion for their service and all the forgotten fallen.
Featuring Jeremiah Trotter #54 themed hoodie #GoBirds
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
==========
The 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion was established after pressure from civil rights activists like A. Philip Randolph, who demanded more opportunities for black soldiers. The 761st became the first African-American armored unit to see combat in World War II.
Training was difficult as the Army provided outdated equipment and insufficient resources compared to white units. They were even reduced to using wood mock-ups painted to look like tanks.
Despite challenges of intense training and racist animus, the 761st developed into a highly skilled and disciplined tank battalion, serving with distinction from France to Austria. The pioneering African-American Tank Battalion participated in major battles like the Battle of the Bulge and had direct involvement in the liberation of Gunskirchen, Wels, and other concentration camps during their crucial drive to Germany near the end of the European campaign.
Their service came at a heavy price.
While fighting for freedoms they themselves could not enjoy back home in America, they lost an estimated 150-200 KIA over the course of the war. Despite the horrors suffered and discrimination endured, the Black Panthers were a heavily decorated unit. The 761st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation which is among the highest awards a U.S. military unit can receive. They also received the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Fourragere, and over 150 individual members of the battalion received Silver Stars for bravery and gallantry under fire. They even were bestowed a Medal of Honor.
Today, the 761st “Black Panthers” Tank Battalion is honored as a trailblazer whose courage under fire helped earn a victory in Europe and paved the way for greater racial equality across the U.S. military.
“A soldier lives forever as long as he is remembered…” - Timothy McCoy, National Historian 2nd Ranger Co. Association
