761st Tank Battalion (United States)
The 761st Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion of the United States Army during World War II. Its ranks primarily consisted of African American soldiers, who by War Department policy were not permitted to serve in the same units as White troops; the United States Armed Forces did not officially desegregate until after World War II. The 761st were known as the Black Panthers after their distinctive unit insignia, which featured a black panther's head, and the unit's motto was "Come out fighting". Decades after the war, the unit received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions. In addition, a large number of individual members also received medals, including one Medal of Honor, eleven Silver Stars and approximately 300 Purple Hearts.
761st Tank Battalion (United States)
Tankers from Company D awaiting the next mission in Coburg, Germany, April 1945
Military history of African Americans
The military history of African Americans spans African-American history, the history of the United States and the military history of the United States from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans during the colonial history of the United States to the present day. African Americans have participated in every war which has been fought either by or within the United States, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), attend a briefing at Ramitelli Airfield, Italy in March 1945.
Crispus Attucks was an iconic patriot; engaging in a protest in 1770, he was shot by royal soldiers in the Boston Massacre.
Painting of Battle of Lake Erie depicting one of Perry's African-American oarsmen in the boat and another African-American sailor in the water
Company I of the 36th Colored Regiment.USCT