Brothers In Arms

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  “in an effort to try to be . . .” Ibid.

  “disrespectful and impertinent . . .” Ibid.

  “Don't you know you've got no right . . .” I Never Had It Made, Robinson, 31.

  “uppity nigger” Ibid., p. 32.

  “arrest in quarters” Jackie Robinson, Rampersad, p. 104.

  “that he had been alerted . . .” I Never Had It Made, Robinson, p. 32.

  “at ease” Jackie Robinson, Rampersad, p. 107.

  “if he had ever called Jackie Robinson . . .” Paul Bates, speech at Fort Hood Monument Banquet, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 43.

  “Whosoever shall relieve . . .” Articles of War, United States Statutes at Large 2 (1789–1848) pp. 359–372, Ninth Congress, first session, Chapter 20, quoted at freepages.military.rootsweb.com.

  Chapter Three: ETO

  Infantrymen who were pulled off . . . Belton Y. Cooper, 3rd Armored Division, interviewed in Rob Lihani, Suicide Missions: Tank Crews, A&E Television Networks: The History Channel, 2000.

  “the German Army was no longer a factor . . .” Quoted from Liddell Hart, “Notes for History: Talk with Jim Rose,” October 28, 1944, quoted in Stanley P. Hirshson, General Patton: A Soldier's Life, HarperCollins, New York, 2002, p. 513.

  “how little the enemy can do . . . “George S. Patton Jr., to Beatrice Ayer Patton, APO 403 New York, August 8, 1944, Patton Papers, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 512.

  “we can be in Germany . . .” Patton Diary, August 21, 1944; Patton to Beatrice Ayer Patton, APO 403 New York, Aug. 21, 1944, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 525.

  “a great general” Colonel Robert S. Allen, Lucky Forward: The History of Patton's Third U.S. Army, The Vanguard Press, New York, 1947, p. 24.

  “As far as I can remember . . .” Patton Diary, January 26, 1944, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 568.

  “But it only goes as far east . . .” Oscar Koch, G2: Intelligence for Patton, Army Times/Whitmore, Philadelphia, 1971, p. 61, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 577.

  “What in the world . . .” Hit Hard, Williams, p. 125.

  “This is a rather hard thing for me . . .” Quoted in Liberators, Potter, p. 148.

  “Each, in his appropriate sphere . . .” Quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 49.

  “a living nightmare of bloody hell” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 29.

  “just like a barroom fight . . .” Transcript of George S. Patton Jr., Press Conference, Sept. 7, 1944, Patton Papers, Library of Congress, quoted in Patton, Hirshson, p. 531.

  Chapter Four: Blood Brothers

  “Men are true comrades . . .” J. Glenn Gray, The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle, Harper & Row, New York, 1959, p. 46, quoted in Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992, p. 22.

  The majority of those . . . Belton Y. Cooper, Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II, Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1998, p. 8.

  “make real history” Lucky Forward, Allen, p. 163.

  “Men, you are the first Negro tankers . . .” Mary Penick Motley, ed., The Invisible Soldier: The Experience of the Black Soldier, World War II, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1987, p. 152.

  “gave a very good first impression . . .” Martin Blumenson, The Patton Papers, Volume II, U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, PA., 1945, p. 567, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 53.

  “it took some doing . . .” Patton to Beatrice Ayer Patton, APO 403 New York, Nov. 8, 1944, Patton Papers, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 554.

  “I think this has been the longest day . . .” Patton, D'Este, p. 668.

  “Don't take council . . .” Patton Diary, Nov. 8, 1944, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 554.

  “like the constant slamming of heavy doors” Ibid., p. 555.

  Lewis never forgot it. Walter Lewis, Diary of a Gunner, quoted in Liberators, Potter, p. 172.

  “I'm going to get 'em” Harry K. Tyree, interview with Joe Wilson, June 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 66.

  Chapter Five: Field of Fire

  “as it was my birthday . . .” Ladislas Farago, Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, Ivan Oblensky, New York, p. 666.

  “They've got us surrounded again . . .” This quote has been variously attributed; however, Time magazine, October 13, 1961, cites Lt. Col. Creighton Abrams, who in World War II commanded the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division, as does historian Christopher Gabel. Abrams later served as the commander of U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

  Three regiments of infantrymen . . . General Patton, Hirshson, pp. 555–56.

  When a German shell penetrated . . . Death Traps, Cooper, p. 67. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the spearhead 3rd Armored Division.

  “I'm hit hard as hell” Johnnie Stevens interview with Joe W. Wilson Jr., July 4, 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 79.

  “I'm already through . . .” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 36.

  They were the ones who had to clean . . . Death Traps, Cooper, p. 20.

  “What the fuck can you do to me? . . .” Hit Hard, Williams, p. 196.

  by a certain class . . . Ibid., pp. 216–17.

  “This is one order . . .” David J. Williams, speech given at the MOH Conference, February 27, 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 91.

  “Simply with driving steadily . . .” Hugh M. Cole, United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Lorraine Campaign, Historical Division, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C., 1950, p. 520.

  The ground-bearing pressure . . . Death Traps, Cooper, p. 24.

  “Commander to driver . . .” Steven J. Zaloga, Sherman Medium Tank 1942–45, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 1978, p. 13.

  “never seen a better demonstration . . .” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 39.

  “How in the hell can I go back . . .” Hit Hard, Williams, p. 209.

  “Division should pinch out this sector . . .” Ibid., p. 210.

  “I see them. . . .” David J. Williams, speech given at MOH Conference, February 27, 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 95.

  “who drew large arrows . . .” Christopher R. Gabel, The Lorraine Campaign: An Overview, Sept.–Dec. 1944, Combat Studies Institute, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, 1985, quoted at www.cgsc.army.mil.

  “I've never seen a tank company . . .” Hit Hard, Williams, p. 217.

  “There were no sounds . . .” Ibid., p. 218.

  Chapter Six: The Saar

  “the traditional invasion route . . .” The Lorraine Campaign, Gabel.

  “The fight we are now having . . .” Patton to Gilbert R. Cook Papers, APO 403, New York, Dec. 10, 1944, Gilbert R. Cook papers, Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 564.

  “more important for young officers . . .” Alden Hatch, George Patton, General in Spurs, Julian Messner, New York, 1950, p. 147, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 665.

  “We are not going to be stopped . . .” Lucky Forward, Allen, pp. 190–91.

  “keep their heads down” Hit Hard, Williams, p. 237.

  “Lt. General George S. Patton's . . .” Quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 118.

  “It is with extreme gratification . . .” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 44.

  “I consider the . . .” Ibid.

  By contrast, to capture . . . The Lorraine Campaign, Gabel.

  “The German defenders were critical of, but grateful . . .” Ibid.

  “The corps commanders . . .” Ibid.

  “he preferred to forget it” General Patton, Hirshson, p. 544.

  “Every defensive position . . .” Lucky Forward, Allen, p. 195.

  “It is my belief . . .” Gay Diary, Dec. 10, 1944, and Dec. 13, 194
4, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 566.

  “I don't know what it means . . .” Patton, Farago, p. 697, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 570.

  Chapter Seven: The Bloody Forest

  “It just looked almost endless . . .” Private Bart Hagerman of the 17th Airborne Division, transcription from American Experience: Battle of the Bulge: The Deadliest Battle of World War II, WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, 1994, 2002.

  “electric” John S. D. Eisenhower, The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1969, reprint, with an introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose, Da Capo Press, New York, 1995, p. 257.

  nothing so much as upstate Vermont Danny S. Parker, Battle of the Bulge: Hitler's Ardennes Offensive, 1944–1945, Combined Publishing, PA, 1991, reprint, Da Capo Press, New York, 2001, p. 50.

  “drive like hell!” Patton Diary, Dec. 20, 1944, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 682.

  “you could spit across it” Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 200.

  Historian John S. D. Eisenhower . . . The Bitter Woods, Eisenhower, p. 409.

  “lance this boil” Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 209.

  “Some call it luck, some genius . . .” Patton Diary, quoted in Mitchell Kaidy, “Who Really Liberated Bastogne,” 87th Infantry Division website, www.87thinfantrydivision.com.

  the dense woods and rugged terrain . . . Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 49.

  “on a likely target as a New Year's . . .” George Forty, Patton's Third Army at War, Scribner's, New York, 1978, p. 140, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 694.

  In his December 22 surrender . . . Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 175.

  “hornet's nest” Hugh M. Cole, United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, 1965, reprint, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1994, p. 643.

  “three of the tanks were burning . . .” 87th Infantry Division Association, Stalwart and Strong: The Story of the 87th Infantry Division, Flourtown, PA, 1993, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 125.

  “dangerous gap” The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, Cole, p. 644.

  “could win this war now” Patton Diary, Dec. 27, 1944, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 586.

  “tired little fart” Ibid.

  “had to try to push . . .” Peter Elstob, Hitler's Last Offensive, London, 1971, pp. 381–82, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 699.

  “a complete misunderstanding of the problem . . .” Gay Diary, Dec. 30, 1944, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 588.

  “badly disorganized” Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 241.

  “we can still lose this war” Ibid., p. 247.

  “I'm going to speak for my whole company . . .” Hit Hard, Williams, pp. 267–68.

  “go very damn slow . . .” Ibid., p. 275.

  “There's no one to take my place . . .” Ibid., p. 276.

  “chilled thoroughly . . .” Ibid., p. 277.

  Chapter Eight: Tillet

  “To introduce into a philosophy of war . . .” Quoted in Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 307.

  “fanatical” Battle of the Bulge, Parker, p. 218. Danny Parker calls the unit “fanatically dedicated.”

  “difficult to follow because so much . . .” The Bitter Woods, Eisenhower, p. 23.

  “Each Battalion will be prepared . . .” The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, Cole, p. 641.

  when pilots did fly . . . General Patton, Hirshson, p. 581. Brig. Gen. Otto Weyland, commander of the XIX Tactical Air Force, is quoted as saying, “It was white when you looked down, white when you looked up, white when you looked out that way.”

  “How men live, much less fight . . .” Quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 699.

  Staff Sergeant Curtis Shoup . . . Medal of Honor citation, www.homeofheroes.com.

  “the most moving experience” Patton Diary, January 8, 1945, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 695.

  “still giving 'em hell” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 50.

  “those German maps again” Lucky Forward, Allen, p. 271.

  Chapter Nine: Task Force Rhine

  “You have fought gallantly and intelligently . . .” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 76.

  “last killing ground . . .” Ken Ford, The Rhineland 1945: The Last Killing Ground in the West, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2000, title page.

  “trying to arrange the blankets smoothly . . .” Eisenhower quoted in Franklin M. Davis Jr., Across the Rhine, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, VA, 1980, p. 22, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 703.

  “single, full blooded thrust” Patton, D'Este, p. 704.

  “if ever before in the history of war . . .” Patton, quoted in Ibid., p. 705.

  “rock soup” Ibid., p. 704.

  “learn what we're doing when they see it . . .” Patton Diary, Feb. 26, 1945, quoted in Patton,D'Este, p. 706.

  “taken Trier with two divisions . . .” quoted in Harry Semmes, Portrait of Patton, Paperback Library, New York, 1970, p. 240, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 708.

  “envelop their rear and pocket them . . .” Lucky Forward, Allen, p. 326.

  Chapter Ten: The River

  “You will wait there . . .” Come Out Fighting, Anderson, p. 89.

  “take a piss in the Rhine . . .” Patton Diary, March 24, 1945, quoted in Patton, D'Este, p. 712.

  The war would continue until American and British forces . . . Patton, D'Este, p. 702.

  Infantry Pfc. Irving Boone was amazed . . . Gerald McMahon, The Siegfried and Beyond, The 71st Infantry Division Association, Cleveland, 1993, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 167.

  “Are there any Africans opposite?” Leonard G. Shurtleff, “France at War: Tirailleurs Senegalais,” The Great War Society, www.worldwar1.com.

  “How many Negro Panzer divisions . . .” The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 168.

  “cow towns” Ibid., p. 169.

  “Too bad about Roosevelt . . .” Walter Lewis, Diary of a Gunner, quoted in Liberators, Potter, p. 229.

  “quite a discussion . . .” Gay Diary, April 12, 1945, and Patton Diary, April 12, 1945, quoted in General Patton, Hirshson, p. 628.

  “You hear me, George . . .” Patton, D'Este, p. 728.

  Chapter Eleven: Home

  “We love, we marry . . .” Margaret M. Crecy, speech given at the MOH Conference, February 27, 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 238.

  “I couldn't put behind me . . .” Bob Armbruster, Alumni Profile of Paul Bates (31), Western Maryland College, 1994, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 229.

  “It is hereby declared to be the policy . . .” Quoted in Robert B. Edgerton, Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in America's Wars, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 2001, p. 164.

  “Not favorably considered . . .” White House Central File, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, pp. 239–40.

  “the Negro Tank Battalion . . .” Stars and Stripes, photostat copy in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 267.

  “there are clear indications . . .” White House Central File, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, quoted in The 761st “Black Panther” Tank Battalion, Wilson, p. 241.

  Hunt seemed indifferent . . . Hit Hard, Williams, pp. 217–18.

  On Christmas Day 1944 . . . The source material for the combat actions of the Medal of Honor recipients described in the following passages are Medal of Honor citations as published in www.homeofheroes.com; Joseph L. Galloway, “Debt of Honor,” U.S. News & World Report, May 6, 1996; and Edgerton, Hidden Heroism.

  “For extraordinary heroism in action during 15–19 November . . .” Rivers Medal of Honor Citation, published at www.homeofheroes.com.

  “In August . . . This after 51 Years!!!” Oscar Jensen, 26th Infantry Division Newsletter, Yankee Doings, December 1999, Vol. LXXX
, No. 4, p. 22.

  Select Bibliography

  Books

  Allen, Colonel Robert S. Lucky Forward: The History of Patton's Third U.S. Army. New York: The Vanguard Press, 1947.

  Ambrose, Stephen E. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

  Anderson, Trezzvant W. Come Out Fighting: The Epic Tale of the 761st Tank Battalion 1942–45. 1945. Reprint. New Haven, CT: The Advocate Press, 1979.

  Cole, Hugh M. United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Lorraine Campaign. Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, Department of the Army, 1950.

  ———. United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations: The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. 1965. Reprint, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1994.

  Cooper, Belton Y. Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1998.

  Courtney, Pfc. Richard D. Normandy to the Bulge: An American Infantry GI in Europe During World War II. Carbondale & Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997.

  D'Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius for War. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

  Edgerton, Robert B. Hidden Heroism: Black Soldiers in America's Wars. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001.

  Eisenhower, John S. D. The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. Reprint, with an introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose, New York: Da Capo Press, 1995.

  Farago, Ladislas. Patton: Ordeal and Triumph. New York: Ivan Oblensky, 1964.

  Folkestad, William B. The View from the Turret: The 743rd Tank Battalion During World War II. Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 2000.

  Ford, Ken. The Rhineland 1945: The Last Killing Ground in the West. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000.

  Franklin, John Hope. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, 3rd. ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967. Reprint, New York: Vintage Books, 1969.

  Gabel, Christopher R. The Lorraine Campaign: An Overview, September– December 1944. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute, 1985.

  Hirshson, Stanley P. General Patton: A Soldier's Life. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.

  McFeely, William S. Frederick Douglass. New York: W. W. Norton, 1991.