My Great Uncle Francis was an electrician in the 758th Light Tank Battalion. This was the first all-Black Armored Unit that fought in WWII. The 758th.

Here is a summary of their story!

The 758th Tank Battalion (Light), the first of the three “Negro” tank battalions to be activated, landed in Italy on November 17, 1944. They were assigned to the 92nd Infantry Division in the Fifth Army. On December 24, 1944, the received orders alerting them for front-line duty.

The 758th Tank Battalion (Light), light indicating M-5 light tanks, rarely worked together as a combined unit, companies and platoons were constantly shifted to and from various infantry, tank, and reconnaissance units. Consequently, tactical errors resulted from the battalion’s use in combat. Despite this, the tankers performed with distinction.

The 758th was composed of Companies A, B, and C, who conducted operations with 17 light tanks each. They also had a Service Company and a Headquarters Company to support them. The light tanks were armed with 37 millimeter cannons, which were extremely accurate for target practice but could not reach enemy positions up in the mountains. Headquarters Company had a platoon of 75 millimeter open turret assault guns that helped to make up for this shortcoming.

Early on, they supported the 370th Infantry Regiment’s advance up the Italy’s eastern coast. They encountered fierce enemy resistance as they pushed forward on the heavily mined roads. Three light tanks fell into deep craters in the bed of a canal during a crossing and drowned out. Sergeant Jefferson Hightower will never forget this incident:

In my memory it was February 12, 1945, and the Germans were retreating to the north and the 92nd Infantry Division wasn’t able to break through. There was a canal that went down to the Mediterranean Sea. 758th, A Company, First Platoon, which I was a part of, was given the job of crossing that canal and picking up the infantry and making an advance up the coast. I was in Tank number 3, Lieutenant McLain was in tank number1. When he hit that canal he turned over and all of them jumped out into the cold water and made it back to the beach. Thank number 2 tried to pass him and they turned over too. I’m in Tank number 3 and I’m sure he is going to tell me to turn around and go back. He is lying there in the sand on the beach cursing and waving me to go across. My driver, who was very good, went around those two tanks and kept his foot on the gas long enough to keep water from sucking up into the engine and we made it across. Tank number 4 turned over and Tank number 5 commanded by Sergeant Seymour Miller of New York made it across. As soon as we made it across some officer from the 92nd told us to go back. “We can’t go any farther right now and all you guys do is draw fire.” He was right, we were drawing fire. We drew fire from those big naval 12- and 14-inch guns. Then the officer insisted that we go back because he had infantry out there and he didn’t want their positions given away. We made it back across that canal by taking the same route. I will never forget that because the shells were coming so close to us that I could see fire coming out of the tail ends. They came right at us and we had to maneuver through them. If they caught you – you were gone!”

The M-5 light tanks of the 758th supported the medium tanks of the 760th Tank Battalion by providing screening and reconnaissance. The medium tanks of the 760th provided the main armor support for the 92nd Infantry Division.

On April 5, 1945, elements of the 758th Tank Battalion supported the 370th Infantry Regiment for its final offensive action in Italy. They advanced north to take the mountain town of Massa. Stiff enemy resistance and mountainous terrain slowed the pace. After several weeks of fighting, the regiment reached its objective.

It was during this assault in the predawn darkness of April 5 that 1st Lieutenant Vernon Baker, a platoon leader in Company C, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, let his 25 – man platoon up Hill X through mortar and artillery fired. The objective was the Aghinolfi Castle near Viareggio, which the Germans had fortified into a mountain stronghold.

This was during the German’s last desperate stand in Italy, and the fighting was fierce. Baker kept his men moving forward always mindful of his training at OCS:

“Keep going! Keep the men going! Set the Example! Complete the mission!”

The rest was reflex.

Baker’s platoon advanced to about 250 years from the castle when he noticed a telescope pointing out of a bunker at the edge of the hill. He low-crawled to the opening, stuck his M-1 Garrand into the slit, and fired off his entire clip. He looked inside and saw two dead German soldiers; one was still sitting slumped in his chair.

Baker then stumbled upon a well-concealed machine gun next and liquidated two more German soldiers. He went back to report on the situation to his company commander, Captain John Runyon. Then a German soldier appeared from out of nowhere and tossed a “potato masher” hand grenade that bounced off of Runyon’s helmet. Luckily for Baker and Runyon it failed to explode. Baker shot and killed the German soldier as he fled.

By this time Baker’s platoon was being ripped apart so he went into the canyon alone. He found a hidden bunker entrance and blasted it open with a grenade. He dropped a German soldier who emerged after the explosion and two more as he dashed inside with his weapon ablaze.

Realizing that reinforcements were not going to show up, Captain Runyon ordered a withdrawal. Baker burned inside because he wanted to finish the fight. He volunteered to draw enemy fire upon himself to effect the evacuation of his wounded men. Only seven of his original 25 men survived the battle. Together they liquidated 26 German soldiers and destroyed six machine gun-nests, two observation posts, and four dugouts.

Runyon told Baker that he was going to get reinforcements. The reinforcements never came and Baker never set eyes on Runyon again. Fifty years later Baker was stunned to find out that Runyon had been put in for the Medal of Honor by the racist leadership of the 92nd Infantry Division. Probably nowhere in the Army was prejudice and racial stereotyping more prevalent that in the 92nd Infantry Division where racism at the highest levels and perceived lack of leadership totally demoralized the men. Surprisingly, Baker received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on April 5, 1945.

From another direction, the 758th’s Assault Gun Platoon provided support to the famous 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442ned Regimental Combat Team (Nisei) in its push on Mt. Belvedere near Seravezza. Orville C. Shirey, the author of Americans, The Story of the 442d Combat Team describes the support:

“The 100thBattalion had attacked to the north at 0500, April 5, behind a tremendous demonstration of power by artillery. The 599th and 329th Field Artillery Battalions, the Regimental Cannon Company, Company B of the 895th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company B of the 84th Chemical Battalion (4.2 mortar), and the Assault Gun Platoon of the 758th Tank Battalion had all let fly a ten-minute concentration on enemy positions.”

In the ensuing assault, Orville C. Shirey describes one of many instances of heroism by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team:

“… Private First Class Sadao S. Munemori, an assistant squad leader of Company A, also contributed immeasurably to the success of the attack. When his unit was pinned down by the enemy’s grazing fire and his squad leader was wounded, command of the squad developed on him. He made frontal, one-man attacks through direct fire and knocked out two machine gun nests with grenades. Withdrawing under murderous fire and showers of grenades from other enemy emplacements, he had nearly reached a shell crater occupied by two of his men when an unexploded grenade bounded from his helmet and rolled toward his helpless comrades. He rose into the withering fire, dived on the grenade, and smothered the blast with his own body. By his swift, supremely heroic action, Private First Class Munemori saved two of his men at the cost of his life and did much to clear the path for the company’s advance.”

A member of the 758th Tank Battalion recalls the attack through the the mountains:

“Our biggest problem with the little Japanese-Americans was keeping up with them; they moved like greased lightning. Instead of following the paths which tanks have to do, they went across the mountains like crazy. We worked out a system. As they took out across the mountains, we wound our way along until we received a signal from them. Then we would lay down a barrage as a diversion. Jerry would be concerned about us and the Nisei would move in swiftly from the rear and mop up. I do mean mop; they turned those Germans every way but loose.”

As the 92nd Infantry Division increased its pressure, the German lines caved in. On April 24, elements of the 758th Tank Battalion entered the La Spezia Naval Base and took up defensive positions. The Gothic Line had been pierced and the division’s objective was reached.

The 758th Tank Battalion held and defended its positions and assisted in mopping up bypassed pockets of resistance. Then, on September 25, 1945, the battalion deactivated in Italy.

On June 14, 1946, the 758th Tank Battalion reactivated at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and became a art of the Armored Force School. In 1948, the battalion moved to Fort Brag, North Carolina, and became a part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

In November 1949, the 758th Tank Battalion was re-designated the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion and assigned to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas. In July 1950, the battalion received orders for deployment to Korea and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. They trained in Japan with the new M-48 tank, the best armored and armed vehicle in the Far East.

In November 1950, the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion performed an assault landing on Wonsan, North Korea, where it relieved elements of the 1st marine Division, the “Frozen Chosin.” Together they withdrew under the onslaught of a massive Chinese intervention. They assisted in the evacuation of U.S. Marines and Korean civilians by holding the final line of resistance behind which 105,000 troops, 100,000 civilians, and 17,500 vehicles were evacuated in the largest beachhead evacuation in U.S. military history.

In early 1951, the battalion joined Task Force Bartlett to clear a path for the 25th Infantry Division. They inflicted heavy enemy casualties and accomplished the mission in five days, giving the Allies a needed boost to their confidence.

In March, the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion participated in Operation Tomahawk. They raced north with the 3rd Infantry Division and linked up with the 2nd Ranger Company, the 4th Ranger Company, and the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (The “RAKKASANS’), who had parachuted behind enemy lines. Together they caught the enemy in a crushing vice and continued pushing north. On March 29, the battalion was among the first American units to cross the 38th parallel in the current Eight Army advance.

In late April 1951, the Chinese launched another major offensive, this one a two-army attack against the United Nations’ front which pushed the Allies south. The 64th Heavy Tank Battalion covered the 3rd Infantry Division’s withdrawal to the Seoul area, where the line of resistance stabilized at the 38th Parallel.

From may 1951 to July 1953, the battalion held and defending positions around the 38th Parallel while it underwent a historical change with the integration of white soldiers into its ranks. This came as a result of Executive Order #9981, signed by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948:

… It is essential that there be maintained in the Armed Forces of the United States the highest standards of democracy with equality of treatment and opportunity for all in our country’s defense.”

In its final action of the Korean War, the battalion repelled an enemy penetration into the South Korean lines. In the fierce fighting that ensued, Company A drove into an enemy regimental assembly area, where they fought at point blant range. Finally, they had to call artillery on themselves. When the smoke cleared, 300 enemy soldiers lay dead. For this action, Company A received the Distinguished Unit Citation.

In November 1954, the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion departed Korea with the Distinguished Unit Citation and two Korean Presidential Unit Citations.

In April 1958, the battalion was again deactivated. Then on June 17, 1963, the 64th Armored Regiment with three battalions was activated. On May 1, 1966, a 4th battalion was activated and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Wurzburg, Germany. In August 1983, the 4/64th moved to Fort Stewart, Georgia, and joined the 24th Infantry Division – the “Victory Division.”

On August 6, 1990, the 4/64th Armored was alerted for duty in the Persian Gulf. They deployed on August 27 to Saudi Arabia, where they joined Operation Desert Shield and trained with the new M1-A1 Abrams tank.

On January 27, 1991, the start of Operation Desert Storm, the 4/64thArmoed jumped off and began routing the Iraqis from Kuwait. On February 19, they began cross-border operations into Iraq and spearheaded in a sandstorm with less than 100-meter visibility. They destroyed dug-in elements of Iraq’s 26th Republican Guard Commando Brigade and cut lies of communications to Baghdad.

On March 9, the 4/64th Armored moved back to Saudi Arabia and prepared for redeployment to the United States. On March 23, 1991, they arrived at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and received a hero’s welcome

Francis E Maddox