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In 1942, the US Army formed the 761st Tank Battalion, made up mostly of Black soldiers. It would become one of the most effective & decorated units of the war. Of its many heroes, one would be known as the "Baddest Man in the 761st" - Sgt Warren G. H. Crecy.
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From Corpus Christi, Texas, Crecy enlisted in 1942 & trained at Fort Knox, KY. The 761st referred to itself as "The Black Panthers". They spent two years readying for the war in Europe, becoming expert in the M4 Sherman & M5 Stuart tanks.
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Training in deep south bases, 761st Black soldiers were constant victims of nearby white units & civillians. Men of the were attacked in a race riot in Alabama. Lt Jackie Robinson, who'd later desegrate baseball, was arrested for refusing to sit at the back of a bus.
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The 761st landed in France in October 1944 with six white officers, thirty Black officers, & 676 black enlisted men. By November they were in combat, & Sgt Crecy, described as "quiet, easy-going, meek-looking fellow" became the nazi's worst nightmare in combat
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On Nov 10, his tank shot out from underneath him by a German gun, Crecy dismounted the burning vehicle, jumped into a nearby jeep armed only with a light machine gun, & destroyed the enemy gun & crew. He then killed forward observers who were directing artillery onto his men.
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The next day, his tank bogged in mud & under fire from anti-tank, artillery, & machine gun fire, Crecy dismounted to free his vehicle. Seeing friendly infantry under German fire, he manned the tank's machine gun from an exposed position & neutralized the enemy machine guns.
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Exposing himself to German fire again, he mounted his tank turret & destroying enemy machine gun nests, panzerfaust gunners & another anti-tank gun. The 761st's historian said that Crecy's friends had to pull him away from the machine gun.
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Crecy received the Silver Star. Over the next 183 days of combat he'd also get a Bronze Star & 4 Purple Hearts. Nominated for a Medal of Honor, he'd not receive one, like all other Black men in WW2. His friend Ssgt Ruben Rivers would receive one posthumously in 1997
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In May 1945, Crecy was given a battlefield commission to Lieutenant. When the war ended, he spent time running a Nuremburg guard detachment overseeing nazi prisoners. Returning to the US, he'd later fight in the Korean War, being wounded a 5th time and retiring as a Major.
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Major Crecy died in 1976 & is buried in Arlington National Cemetery; one of the most decorated soldiers of one of the most decorated combat units of the US Army in World War 2, The Black Panthers.
This country is ready for a miniseries about the 761st Tank Battalion, @hbo
