For Conspicuous Gallantry: The Short Life of WWII Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers
Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers (courtesy of Congressional Medal of Honor Society).
Ruben Rivers (October 31, 1918 – November 19, 1944) was a United States Army staff sergeant who was killed in action while serving as a tank company platoon sergeant during World War II. In 1997, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration for valor, for his actions on November 16–19, 1944, near Bourgaltroff, France.
Rivers (half-Cherokee) & six other Black Americans who served in World War II, were awarded the Medal of Honor on January 12, 1997. The Medal of Honor was posthumously presented to family members of Rivers by President Bill Clinton on January 13, 1997, during a Medals of Honor ceremony for the seven recipients at the White House in Washington, D.C. The seven recipients are the first and only Black Americans to be awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II.
Information above provided by Wikipedia.
It has been almost 80 years since the Second World War ended and as we continue to honor those Americans who undoubtedly and courageously contributed to the defense of the United States, we often overlook in our remembrances the valiant efforts of Black Americans. Throughout the war years, Black Americans repeatedly had to battle opponents on two fronts: the foreign enemy overseas and racism at home.
In his State of the Union Address on January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented his reasons for American involvement in World War II, making the case for continued aid to Great Britain and greater production of war industries at home. In helping Britain, President Roosevelt stated, the United States was fighting for the universal freedoms that all people possessed. These "four freedoms" - the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear - symbolized America's war goals and gave hope in the following years to a war-wearied people because they knew they were fighting for freedom.
Now how could Black Americans go to war and risk their lives for these "four freedoms'' when they barely had these freedoms in the United States? Thus, as the war unfolded, they vehemently insisted on the privileges of full citizenship. Black Americans were ready to work and fight for their country, but at the same time they demanded an end to the discrimination against them. As World War II intensified in Europe, and with the U.S. Armed Forces in need of more men, President Roosevelt decided that black American men could register for the draft, but they would remain segregated and the military would decide the number of Blacks inducted into the Armed Forces. More than one million Black Americans would go on to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and many of them would become heroes, although their stories would eventually be buried by the sands of time due to racism.
In January 1942, the Pittsburgh Courier, once the country's most widely circulated African-American newspaper, published a letter by 26-year-old James G. Thompson, a Black American serving in the military: "Should I sacrifice my life to live half American? Will things be better for the next generation in the peace to follow? Would it be demanding too much to demand full citizenship rights in exchange for the sacrificing of my life? Is the kind of America I know worth defending? These and other questions need answering; I want to know, and I believe every colored American, who is thinking, wants to know."
One young man who probably asked himself all of these questions and more but still decided to serve his country was a young man named Ruben Rivers of Oklahoma. Rivers would go on to display extreme heroism on the battlefield, which would result in his early death, but his actions would go on unrecognized for many decades. It wouldn't be until January 1997 that Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers was finally given the United States' highest award for military valor in action, the Medal of Honor.
Ruben's story, hidden history that has remained long forgotten, is the story of an American hero willing to sacrifice his life for a country that treated him as a second-class citizen & an imperfect nation plagued by bigotry, injustice, racism and segregation.
For the rest of Ruben's story, please check out the audio link provided for EPISODE THIRTY of our podcast, Hidden History: An Odyssey Through Time
LISTEN NOW: For Conspicuous Gallantry: The Short Life of WWII Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers
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Images and Documents
Ruben Rivers & his family in the 1920 U.S. Census. Ruben is listed as "Ruby" (familysearch.org).
1929 school record, Ruben Rivers is the 3rd child listed, Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1968 (familysearch.org).
Ruben Rivers & his family in the 1930 U.S. Census. Ruben is listed as "Ruby" once again (familysearch.org).
1930 school record, Ruben Rivers is the 3rd child listed, Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1968 (familysearch.org).
1933 school record, Ruben Rivers is the 3rd child listed, Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1968 (familysearch.org).
1934 school record, Ruben Rivers is the 3rd child listed, Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1968 (familysearch.org).
Ruben Rivers & his family in the 1940 U.S. Census. Ruben is listed 4th from the top (familysearch.org).
Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States 761st Tank Battalion, the battalion Ruben Rivers was assigned to (courtesy of U.S. Army).
Newspaper article that mentions Ruben's heroic actions in France, The Pittsburgh Courier, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1944 (fultonhistory.com).
Newspaper article announcing the death of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers on November 19, 1944, The Black Dispatch, Oklahoma City, Jan. 6, 1945.
Newspaper article announcing the death of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers on November 19, 1944. The article claims Ruben killed an estimated 200 German soldiers during battle. The article also incorrectly states that Ruben's body was buried in Fairview (Negro) Cemetery. This is false, since Ruben was buried in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France, The Shawnee News-Star, Shawnee, Oklahoma, Jan. 7, 1945.
Newspaper article announcing that Ruben Rivers had been awarded the Silver Star after his death, The Mississippi Enterprise, Jackson, Mississippi, April 7, 1945 (fultonhistory.com).
Soldiers from "Dog Company" of the 761st Tank Battalion check equipment before leaving England for combat in France in the fall of 1944 (courtesy of U.S. Army).
Tank crew from the 761st sit in their M24 Chaffee tank in a snowy field around Bastogne, waiting to engage German forces during the Battle of the Bulge, 1944 (courtesy of National Park Service).
Tank crews from the 761st Tank Battalion await orders to clean out scattered Nazi machine gun nests in Coburg, Germany, April 25, 1945 (courtesy of U.S. Army).
The final resting place of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers, Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, France (findagrave.com).
On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to Grace Woodfork, older sister of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers, at a ceremony at the White House. Seven African-American World War II veterans, six posthumously, including Ruben Rivers, were presented the Congressional Medal of Honor on that day in January (C-SPAN).
This painting of Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers was completed in 2012 by ARMOR magazine art illustrator Jody Harmon. Currently on display at the headquarters of the U.S. Army Armor School.
Willie Rivers, younger brother of Ruben Rivers, stands with his wife Norma at Ruben's display at Unsung Heroes event at National WWII Museum, New Orleans, October 14, 2015.
5 of the 7 Medals of Honor awarded to Black Americans during WWII on view at National WWII Museum, New Orleans. Ruben's medal is the first one, October 14, 2015.
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