WEBVTT - 101423 Way Black History Fact - The Original Black Panthers

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<v Speaker 1>Right now, It's time for the Way Black History Fact.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground Beach

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<v Speaker 1>Club From the Streets to the Beach. For the latest

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<v Speaker 1>in beachwear, visit Underground Beach Club dot com. Ever heard

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<v Speaker 1>of black Panthers? Of course you do, But have you

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<v Speaker 1>ever heard of the original black Panthers? Well, buckle up,

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<v Speaker 1>here we go, all right. The men of the African

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<v Speaker 1>Americans seven hundred and sixty first Tank Battalion entered combat

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<v Speaker 1>at Mooreville, Lesvic on November seventh, nineteen forty four, and

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<v Speaker 1>an infronto battle, they proved their worth for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time in a series of hard fought battles the seven

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and sixty first Tank Battalion. The battalion's motto was

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<v Speaker 1>come out fighting, and that it did from its first

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<v Speaker 1>engagement at the little Belgian town of Moreville, Lesvic in

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<v Speaker 1>November nineteen forty four, and through heavy combat right through

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the war. But the seven hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>sixty First fight was not just against the Germans. As

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<v Speaker 1>a segregated African American unit, it took part in the

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<v Speaker 1>struggle for racial equality, a struggle in which the men

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<v Speaker 1>of the seven hundred and sixty First, the so called

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<v Speaker 1>Black Panthers would engage for the rest of their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>Brought into existence on April first, nineteen forty two, at

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<v Speaker 1>Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, the seven hundred and sixty first Tank

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<v Speaker 1>Battalion trained amid the restrictions and racism of Jim Crow South.

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<v Speaker 1>First Lieutenant Jack Roosevelt Robinson of the seven hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>sixty first, an athlete who had become one of the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest baseball players of all time, lost his chance to

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<v Speaker 1>see combat when he refused to move to the back

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<v Speaker 1>of a segregated military bus during an incident in Fort Hood, Texas,

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<v Speaker 1>in July nineteen forty four. The seven hundred and sixty

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<v Speaker 1>first Battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Paul el Bates, refused to

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<v Speaker 1>prosecute Robinson, but a superiors got around that by transferring

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<v Speaker 1>the lieutenant to another unit, where he was court martial.

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<v Speaker 1>Robinson was later acquitted, but too late to rejoin the

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<v Speaker 1>Black Panthers. Seven hundred and sixty First arrived in France

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<v Speaker 1>on October ten, nineteen forty four, coming ashore at Omaha

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<v Speaker 1>Beach and moving into Belgium at the beginning of November,

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<v Speaker 1>General George S. Patten famously gave the Black Panthers a

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<v Speaker 1>pep talk, saying in part, men, you're the first Negro

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<v Speaker 1>Tan to ever fight in the American Army. I would

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<v Speaker 1>never have asked for you if you weren't good. I

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<v Speaker 1>have nothing but the best in my army. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>care what color you are, as long as you go

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<v Speaker 1>up there and kill those proud soldiers. Everyone has their

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<v Speaker 1>eyes on you and is expecting great things from you,

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<v Speaker 1>most of all your races, looking forward to your success.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't let them down, and darn you, don't let me down. Privately, however,

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<v Speaker 1>Patten harbored the same doubts that many white officers had

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<v Speaker 1>about black soldiers, and he was reluctant to commit them

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<v Speaker 1>to combat. On November seven, nineteen forty four, the Black

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<v Speaker 1>Panthers finally got their chance as they attacked the German

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<v Speaker 1>held town of Morville Lesvik in support of the twenty

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<v Speaker 1>six Infantry Division. Bates, wounded the night before the engagement,

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<v Speaker 1>was not present, nor were many of his white senior officers. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the thrust into town was commanded by African American Captain

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<v Speaker 1>John D. Long of b company who followed behind the

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<v Speaker 1>lead Sherman tank commandment by Sergeant Roy King quote, I

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<v Speaker 1>am sure men thought I was a bad man and

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<v Speaker 1>hated my guts, but they followed me. Later recalled Long,

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<v Speaker 1>a no nonsense officer who held from Detroit Motown. They

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<v Speaker 1>were a well greased fighting machine. Captain Long proudly summed

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<v Speaker 1>up his pride for the Black Panthers and their conduct

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<v Speaker 1>not for God and for country, but from me and

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<v Speaker 1>my people. He said, this was my motivation, pure and simple.

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<v Speaker 1>When I entered the army, I sware to myself there

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<v Speaker 1>would never be a headline saying my men and I chicken.

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<v Speaker 1>Soldier in time of war is supposed to accept the

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<v Speaker 1>idea of dying. That's what he's there for. Live with

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<v Speaker 1>it and forget it. I expected to get killed, whatever happened,

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<v Speaker 1>I was determined to die an officer and a gentleman.

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<v Speaker 1>The town of morethe Less Victor was supposed to be

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<v Speaker 1>a snap, but it was my inferno. My men were tigers.

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<v Speaker 1>They fought like seasoned veterans. We got our lumps, but

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<v Speaker 1>we took that efing town. So that's where the Black

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<v Speaker 1>Panthers came from. Some soldiers and some ogs stick around,