The 76th Battalion "aka"The Black Panther Tank Battalion.

Was an all-black Louisiana-based military unit. The group was activated in 1942 and trained at Camp Hood Texas.The men of the 761th stood upright and were called "cocky."The men were given a superior ranking by the Second Army Commander.Baseball great Jackie Robinson was an officer of the 761st but because of  a race incident on his bus,he was not allowed to deploy.His unit was soon off to Europe under General S. Patton Jr.The 761st fought in France,Belgium,Germany,and was among the first in the military to meet the Soviet Army at a River in Austria.The Black Panther unit was the first black unit to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.They honored soldiers had endureds 183 of continuous fighting.The 761st.was made up of ferless men who refused to back down under pressure;men like Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers,who gave their lives in the line of duty.Staff  Sergeant Ruben Rivers of the 761st was a valiant solider who was severely injured on November 16,1944.His tank hit a a mine in in France and although his leg was was injured down to the bone,he refused any pain injections so as to not deter him from his duties.On November 19,three days after the attack,the unit was under enemy fire.Instead of heeding the warnings of Captain David Williams,Staff Sgt.Rivers took on the barrage of German anti-tank guns.He was killed in action and others were wounded,but his actions allowed the fellow soliders of Company A. to escape alive.He posthumusly received the Congressional Medal of Honors.