Rivers, Ruben
1918-1944 · Contribution: 1944-1997
Received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1997 for repeatedly refusing evacuation after a severe wound to continue leading his tank platoon in combat near Guebling, France, in November 1944 — one of seven Black WWII veterans honored after a 1990s Army study confirmed racial discrimination had denied Black soldiers fair Medal of Honor consideration
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Impact on the world
A platoon sergeant in the 761st Tank Battalion — the “Black Panthers,” the U.S. Army's first Black tank unit to see combat — Rivers earned the battalion's first Silver Star on November 8, 1944, by dismounting under fire to personally clear a German roadblock of trees and mines near Vic-sur-Seille, France. On November 16, his tank struck a mine near Guebling, slashing his leg to the bone; he declined morphine and evacuation, took command of another tank, and continued directing fire on enemy positions for three more days despite a worsening infection, until on November 19, seeing a German anti-tank position his company commander had missed, he radioed “I see 'em. We'll fight 'em!” and moved to cover his unit's withdrawal, absorbing two direct high-explosive hits that killed him instantly. His company commander, Captain David Williams, recommended him for the Medal of Honor the day after his death, but the recommendation went nowhere for more than 50 years until the 1997 White House ceremony, where his medal was presented to his eldest sister.
Life & background
Born October 31, 1918, in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, one of twelve children of farmers Willie and Lillian Rivers who were of mixed Black and Cherokee heritage, Rivers grew up working the family farm near Hotulka before the family moved to Earlsboro, where he graduated high school and worked briefly on the railroad. Drafted into the Army in January 1942 along with two brothers, he alone was assigned to a combat unit, training with the newly formed, segregated 761st Tank Battalion at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, where he rose to platoon sergeant; the battalion, addressed by General George S. Patton before deploying — “I have nothing but the best in my Army... don't let me down!” — landed at Omaha Beach in October 1944 and fought 183 consecutive days, liberating some 30 towns across six countries. He is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in France, and the 761st Tank Battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation in 1978, 34 years after their combat service.
Sources
- National Park Service; National Museum of the United States Army; National WWII Museum; BlackPast.org
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