A Black WWII tank battalion rescued from obscurity

it's a safe guess few of us have heard  the story of the 761st tank Battalion   the all-black unit that fought with  distinction during the second World War   hopefully that's about to change David  Martin catches up with Academy Award   winner Morgan Freeman who's shining a light on  an almost forgotten chapter of American history   good morning sir good morning Morgan Freeman's  work is already in the National film registry of   movie classics at the Library of Congress and now  he's here in person have you ever been here before   I don't think so you're in for a treat we're here  to visit one of the great public spaces in America   the main reading room of the Library of Congress  oh my God yeah nothing says history like this room we're here because it was the only  place we could find a copy of this book   come out fighting the Epic tale of  the 761st tank battalion 1942-1945. the first black tank Battalion to fight in World  War II a time when the armed forces were still   segregated and blacks were limited almost entirely  to support duties behind the front lines and this   is the history of the 761st a Trezzvant   Anderson a young black reporter Trezzvant  Anderson accompanied the 761st as it fought   its way across Europe have you ever heard  of him before he started working on this no   no he deserves to be better known all of  this is able to be better known all of this   Landing in Normandy they fought their way across  France Luxembourg Belgium and into Germany Freeman   has set out to make that happen with a documentary  about the 761st also known as the Black Panthers   all in there and see the little dog spot right  yeah I see it it's right there feel it yeah that's   some more of that steel which will air on the  History Channel complete with a cameo appearance   by Lloyd Austin the nation's first black secretary  of defense so Morgan it's great to have you here   although around here to be honest with you  you know the whole deep smooth voice thing   that's really my thing so what struck you most  about their story well the thing that would strike   anybody I think is the fact that all of this is  true and nobody knows about it why don't we know   all of American history the story of the 761st  has been told before they were African-American   soldiers in a documentary narrated by  Denzel Washington and in a book written by   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but it is never registered in  American culture like the Band of Brothers the HBO   series about a company of white soldiers fighting  their way across Europe what do you hope to add to   it I want to do a Band of Brothers I wanted to be  before the public in all of its depth and wonder   bravery Blood and Guts very few people will  ever read Trezzvant Anderson's account copy two   the librarian tells us that's two of only  two and the other one is in storage because   it's in such bad condition but you don't have  to read it Morgan Freeman will read it to you   story belongs to the 14 million Negroes of America  as of tribute to the military prowess courage   and bravery of their sons Brothers and fathers  against Great arms on the field of battle   so the numbers have changed they're now I think  47.2 million black Americans are those words   still ring oh yeah true me too what the  761st tank Battalion did and how it did it   are the utmost importance to all the people of  America in the fall of 1944 General George Patton   was leading the American charge towards Germany  but he was running short of Tanks so Patton who   never hid his racist views sent for the 761st  everyone has their eyes on you and expecting great   things from you most of all your race is looking  forward to you don't let them down and damn you   don't let me down they saw their first Combat on  November 7th 1944 in a small French Village held   by the Germans everybody was scared only a liar  would deny it but then the job just had to be done   the Germans kicked hell out of company C so  it's not like 761st is going from glorious   Victory to Glorious Victory no they're taking  some serious losses they they didn't back down   they didn't turn and run they were thrown into the  Epic Battle of the Bulge Hitler's last desperate   attempt to reverse the tide of war broke through  the heavily fortified Siegfried line across   the Rhine and rolled into the third right 183  straight days on the front lines but here's to me   the ultimate compliment because it comes from an  enemy soldier said bravery I've never before seen   that's the way I kept the German officer put it  they said we weren't qualified to do this and   we shipped out to prove different and we did we  proved it Johnny Stevens was one of six members   of the 761st whose oral histories were recorded  by the library of congress's veterans history   project but we didn't get any recognition four  they came home to a country as deeply segregated   as the one they left how were they treated how  were they treated by the government by the country to the back of the bus where you belong the 761st  was nominated for a presidential unit citation in   1945 but did not receive it until Jimmy Carter  was president after a pentagon investigation   that oversight has been corrected 33 years  after the war President Carter awarded the   761st a presidential Citation for Extraordinary  heroism in action Reuben Rivers did not receive   the posthumous Medal of Honor he had earned  in battle until Bill Clinton was President   the president of the United States of America  authorized by active Congress has awarded in the   name of the Congress the Medal of Honor to staff  sergeant Reuben Rivers the United States Army   your nation thanks you and God bless you thank you   Trezzvant Anderson says it better than either  you or I could and by the sweat of the brows   of Dusky negro soldiers who fought for that  country and gave them blood in their lives on   the field of battle asking nothing but hoping  that their sacrifices would not go unheated   and unnoticed by history have they  gone unheeded and unnoticed until now   we can make them noticed time's come  that's all as simple as that time's come

Channel: CBS Sunday Morning

Views: 46,679

Keywords: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, news, Morgan Freeman, 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers, documentary, history channel, armed forces, segregation

Id: yYh2mAun3Bw

Length: 8min 21sec (501 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/accountantdooku]

This was a great story. I hope the Band of Brothers style project happens.

[u/PunkRockKitty1979]

It’s never to late. Love Morgan Freeman.